


SkyFire 2: The Indefinite Hiatus

by An_Abundance_of_Soph



Series: SkyFire [2]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, One Direction (Band)
Genre: Amputation, Amputee OC, Disabled Character, Domestic Fluff, F/M, Light Angst, M/M, Not Canon Compliant, Post-One Direction, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, best friend louis tomlinson, mcu who?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-19
Updated: 2020-10-05
Packaged: 2021-03-06 01:15:23
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 19
Words: 49,894
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25984981
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/An_Abundance_of_Soph/pseuds/An_Abundance_of_Soph
Summary: Harry and Aurora's lives together after One Direction
Relationships: Harry Styles/Original Female Character(s), Steve Rogers/Tony Stark, Stony
Series: SkyFire [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1883380
Comments: 2
Kudos: 7





	1. Saint Lucia & NYC: January 2016

**Author's Note:**

> Most chapters end up with some fake Instagram posts attached so please check out my for those and spotify playlists of Aurora's music https://abundanceofsoph.tumblr.com/post/621613699259629569/skyfire-masterlist
> 
> Don’t forget to leave a comment :)
> 
> CW/TW: We are starting out with some pretty full on panic attacks in this chapter and the first half 2016 is not going to be a great time for Aurora.

Aurora spent the first day of the new year in surgery, once again working to piece her left hand back together. She had undergone 3 surgeries in as many months to repair the horrific damage that had been caused to her hand and she’d long since stopped paying attention to the surgeons. Instead she just let her fathers hyper-focus on the details of every procedure, but she was pretty sure she remembered them saying that the focus of this latest operation was to repair the muscles and reattach them to the correct place in her hand which was still mostly made of plates and screws. She very rarely took the brace off but when she did, the vast web of scar tissue stretching across her skin made her stomach roll and pitch. She had been trying not be shallow about it but she couldn’t help but hope that when the surgeons were finished cutting her open over and over again, that a plastic surgeon would be able to do something about the scarring like they were planning to do with skin grafts on her shoulder masking the bullet wound that had ripped through her skin there.

When she awoke in the hospital, Harry was waiting patiently by her side, with Tony and Steve nearby as they always were. Since the band’s final performance before Christmas, Harry had barely left her side, for which Aurora was intensely grateful. Having his comforting presence next to her every night had kept the nightmares at bay and she had actually found herself able to enjoy the holiday season, much to her own surprise. She was able to go home the day after the surgery once the surgeon had once again run through the extensive list of post-op procedures for her to follow.

They had a big family dinner the night after the surgery celebrating Aurora’s 21st birthday a few days early before Harry whisked them away to spend 2 weeks in Saint Lucia, soaking up the sunshine.

xXx

They arrived late in the afternoon and caught a cab from the small airport to the beach side cottage Harry had rented for their stay. They were both tied from travelling and decided to curl up together on the sofa and watch movies instead of heading out to explore.

When she woke the next morning, she was alone in the bed, bright sunshine streaming in through the open windows and the sound of the nearby waves filling the small house. She climbed out of bed, throwing Harry’s discarded shirt over her and padded out towards the kitchen where she could hear soft music playing.

“Morning,” she mumbled, wrapping her arms around his waist as he stood at the stove, flipping pancakes. She kissed across his bare shoulders as she tried to wake up fully.

“Morning, love,” Harry replied, moving the pan off the heat so that he could turn around in her arms and kiss her softly. “How d’you sleep?”

“The best I have in weeks,” she replied with a yawn, letting go of him to head to the fridge and pour them both a glass of orange juice. She sat down at the island bench while Harry finished putting together their breakfast and then they both walked outside to the little table and chairs set up on the patio, looking out over the beach.

“It’s so beautiful here,” Harry said after he swallowed the first bite of his pancake.

“It’s perfect,” Rori agreed. “Thank you for bringing me here.”

“Had to make your 21st special,” Harry smiled. “Want to head down to the water after breakfast?”

“Absolutely.”

They chatted aimlessly as they ate, staring out across the waves and soaking up the early morning sunshine. Once they finished eating, they took the dishes to the sink and then Aurora headed into the bathroom to change into her swimsuit. Harry slipped into his yellow shorts and threw on a white t-shirt, then started to rub sunscreen on his arms and legs while he waited for Rori. She came out of the bathroom a few minutes later, her hair up in a messy bun, a light blue one piece covering the scars on her stomach. Without a word, she stepped in front of where he sat on the edge of the bed and he rubbed sunscreen across her shoulders and down her arms. He didn’t say anything when he saw that the brace was still in place on her arm, instead continuing down to cover her legs as well.

“All done,” he said, lightly slapping her arse and causing her to jump and let out a squeak. He stood up, grabbing two towels to leave on the patio and started to head for the door.

“Wait,” Rori called out before he stepped outside. “Before we go out…” She took a deep breath and Harry quickly walked back towards her, placing his hands on her shoulders as she steadied herself. “I can’t go in the water with the brace on,” she finally said. “But before I show you, I just need to warn you that it looks really bad Harry.”

“It’s ok,” Harry promised. “You can show me.”

She took another deep breath before unstrapping the brace and removing it. Harry reached towards her hand, stopping when his fingers were nearly touching her.

“May I?” He asked, looking up and searching her face for any hint of distress.

She nodded quickly. “Just be gentle,” she whispered.

His fingers ghosted over her skin, tracing the spiderweb of scars across the back her hand, up across her wrist and onto her forearm. The newest incision from the surgery she’d gone through earlier in the week was covered by an opaque plastic bandage. He traced the edge of it with the tips of his fingers.

“It’s waterproof,” Rori explained. “Dr Walker said it will be fine in the ocean, but I’ve got a spare one in case I have to swap it over before we leave.”

“Does it hurt when I do this?” Harry asked, tearing his eyes away from her hand to look back at her face.

“No.” She smiled softly back at him. “It feels amazing to not be hiding anything from you anymore.”

“I love you,” he replied, kissing her deeply. “Now there’s a beach out there with our name on it.”

They both grabbed their sunglasses off the kitchen counter, then headed out through the door and straight down into the waves. The bright sunshine had warmed the water and Rori smiled brightly as she sank down until only her head was left above the surface.

They spent the next two weeks sunning themselves on the beach, swimming in the ocean and wrapped up in each other’s arms. The warmth helped chase away the aches in Rori’s shoulder and spending everyday laying out in sun beside the beautiful Caribbean waters was exactly what they both needed to relax and unwind after an exhausting year. Harry rented a boat for them for Aurora’s birthday and they’d spent the day sailing around the island. On one of the other days they hiked into the rainforest. It was a beautiful trip and Harry loved seeing a constant smile on Rori’s face, but before either of them liked, the two weeks were over, and they headed back to New York. When they returned from the Caribbean, Aurora went back to her surgeon for a follow up appointment.

xXx

Harry sat beside her as they waited in the Doctors office, holding her hand. Thankfully they didn’t have to wait too long before Dr Walker entered the room, she was surprised to notice that Aurora wasn’t joined by either of her fathers but rather by a young man she assumed was the elusive fiancé she had heard about but not yet met.

“Good to see you again, Aurora,” she said when she took her seat in front of them, her desk was set against the far wall allowing her more space in the small room. “How are you today?”

“Good to see you too, Dr Walker,” Rori smiled. “I’m really good. This is Harry.”

“The illusive fiancé?” she asked as he shook her hand.

“The one and only,” Rori chuckled, a slight blush colouring her cheeks.

“How was your birthday?” Dr Walker asks. “You’re looking very tanned.”

“It was wonderful, Harry took me down to Saint Lucia for the last 2 weeks. We only got back yesterday.”

“That would explain why you asked about salt water when I last saw you,” she laughed. “How was the hand while you were away?”

“It was ok. “Aurora shrugged. “I had to change out the bandage after about a week, but I made sure the stiches stayed dry the whole time. It’s still hurts if I try to move my fingers, but I think the warm weather helped. My shoulder feels better than it’s been in months.”

“That all sounds good,” the doctor nodded. “I’m planning to look at your knuckles when I next operate so that should help with the pain and we’ll get you in to physical therapy in a month or two to start getting things moving a little bit.”

“That would be great,” Rori nodded. The Doctor wheeled her chair closer to Rori then, asking for her hand and removing the brace and bandages to inspect the most recent wound. Aurora winced when she pressed on a certain spot and Harry squeezed her other hand.

“Everything looks to be healing nicely,” she said after a few minutes. “I’ll have a nurse remove the stitches and rebandage it before you head home.”

“Thank you,” Rori replied, resting her hand back in her lap.

“Now I hope you don’t mind but I’ve been talking with Dr Forster and since I know you hate surgery days, we thought we might combine the next one for your hand with your skin graft surgery.”

“Really, you can do that?” Aurora asked excitedly. “That’s sounds so great!”

“Skin grafts?” Harry asked, speaking up for the first time since greeting the doctor.

“We are going to use skin from Aurora’s forearm to try to smooth out some of the scarring on her shoulder,” Dr Walker explained. “I’m looking at early February for our next surgery, does that work for you?”

“I’m going to London at the start of February,” Aurora replied, looking to Harry and smiling.

“We can come back a little early,” Harry said. “Like maybe around the 4th or 5th?”

“Let’s pencil it in for the 7th?” the doctor asked.

“Ok,” Rori nodded, excited to finally have her scarring addressed, but overall, not enthused by the prospect of another surgery.

“Excellent,” Dr Walker replied. “Know let’s get a nurse to get those stitches out and then you can go back to enjoying the rest of your day.”

xXx

Harry stayed in New York for another week after the appointment with Aurora’s surgeon before he had to fly to London for meetings. Aurora decided to stay behind in New York, and the two made plans for her to join him at the end of the week for his birthday.

xXx

With Harry in London for meetings all week, Aurora decided to finally head down to her art studio for the first time in months. It was a cold January day, but the sky was clear, and the sun streamed in through the massive floor to ceiling windows in the studio, warming the room and bringing a smile to Rori’s face as she set up a canvas on her easel.

Aurora threw down her paint brush in frustration. She hadn’t even been in the studio an hour and she had already spilt her paints 3 separate times. With her left hand still wrapped up in its brace, she was struggling to stabilize her palette on the worktable she had dragged over next to her easel. Angry tears stung her eyes and she found all her inspiration for the half-finished canvas in front of her evaporating. She left the room in a huff, turning towards her music studio down the hall in the hopes of channelling her bubbling emotions into her other avenue of art. She lasted barely 20 minutes in the studio, struggling to utilize any of the instruments with only one hand, before her anger intensified beyond her control.

“Sir? Captain? It appears that Miss Stark is quite destressed in her recording studio and she may have reinjured her left hand.”

Tony’s head snapped up at JARVIS’s announcement, his eyes locking with Steve’s across the workshop. He saw his own concern mirrored on his husbands face as they both lurched to their feet and rushed from the room.

A chair smashed against the wall when they entered the recording studio that Tony had built for their daughter, and said daughter was crying hysterically in the middle of the room, clutching her injured hand to her chest. Damaged instruments scattered the room and sheet music had be thrown across the floor. They both rushed towards her, Tony reached her first and wrapped his arms around her from behind as she screamed wordlessly, sobbing as her legs gave out, his grip the only thing keeping her on her feet. Steve joined them a moment later, adding his arms to the hug and sandwiching the young woman between them both. They sank to the floor together as her screams died down and her sobbing lessened. Nobody spoke as she continued to shake in their arms, her face pressed into Steve shoulder.

“What happened baby?” Steve asked softly after her breath finally began to even out.

At first, she didn’t answer, but when she did her voice was hoarse and cracked.

“I wanted to work,” she explained in barely more than a whisper. “I had lyrics in my head, and I wanted to get it out, but I can’t.” Her tears returned then, coating her cheeks and staining Steve’s shirt. “I can’t play anymore, and I couldn’t even keep the paper from sliding around when I tried to write.”

“JARVIS said you hurt your hand,” Steve said, reaching out to as if to touch the hand through its brace.

“I think I hit it when I through the bass at the wall,” she admitted guiltily. “I’m sorry dad,” she added, finally lifting her head to look at Tony over her shoulder. “I didn’t mean to trash everything. I just got so angry.”

“It’s ok kiddo,” Tony promised. “We can replace all of this. I’m just worried about you.”

“I don’t know what I’m supposed to do now,” she admitted. “I can’t play. I can’t write. Painting is so hard without being able to hold the palette and I can’t get my sketchbook to stay still on the table to sketch. What am I supposed to do with my life?”

“I don’t know baby,” Steve said, not wanting to lie to her. “But we’ll work it out, ok?”

“The surgeon said my hand will never be the same, no matter how many more surgeries I have,” Rori reminded the two men and then she whispered a sentence they both instantly knew would haunt them for months. “Sometimes I wish I’d died that day.”

“Please don’t say that baby,” Tony begged. “We’ll help you figure this out. I promise it won’t always hurt like this.”

Between the two of them, Tony and Steve managed to calm her down and the three of them made their way back upstairs and curled up on the sofa together to watch a movie.


	2. Harry’s Birthday & Wedding Planning: February 2016

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Check out my tumblr for fake instagram posts and spotify playlists https://abundanceofsoph.tumblr.com/post/626851540633796608/skyfire-2-the-indefinite-hiatus
> 
> Don’t forget to leave a comment :)

Following her breakdown in the studio, Steve and Tony both accompanied Aurora to the hospital to get her hand x-rayed the next day. It turned out she had split open the most recent incision but given the fact that she would be back the following week for more surgery, Dr Walker opted to close the wound with steri-strips instead of more stitches. She got a small lecture about being more careful and as soon as they returned home, Sam was waiting for them. Aurora walked with him down the hall towards her private living room in silence.

“So, what happened yesterday?” Sam asked after the sat down.

“I’m sure you know already,” Aurora replied. “Dad would have told you everything.”

“He did but I was hoping to hear your side of it,” Sam said.

“I don’t know Sam.” She huffed out a breath, tucking her hair behind her ear as she collected her thoughts. “I finally went downstairs, and I started painting for the first time since the shooting…”

“That sounds like a good thing,” Sam said. “What went wrong?”

“I kept knocking the paint over,” Rori sighed. “And it just felt wrong, like I was off balance or something. I’m right handed so I didn’t really think I needed my left hand to paint but I guess I use it more than I realised. Any way I got frustrated and then I just lost all motivation for the work, so I left and went down the hall to the recording studio, but that was so much worse.”

“How so?” Sam prompted when she didn’t seem to want to continue.

“For as long as I can remember, music has been everything,” Rori tried to explain. “When I had nothing, I had music. When mum died, I wrote about it, and when I moved here, I wrote about it. Playing the piano, writing songs, it’s what I do. My art is all if have. It’s all I’ve ever wanted to do with my life and yesterday I couldn’t do any of it. I got so angry Sam. I just got so angry and there was nothing I could do to channel that, so I just blew up.”

“And you trashed the studio,” Sam finished.

“I did,” Rori mumbled. “I don’t know what I do now Sam.”

“Would it help if we got a clearer picture from your surgeon?” he asked. “Maybe a firmer timeframe of when she excepts you to be able to do certain things again? We could work out a clear plan of what surgeries and physically therapies are needed to get you where you want to be. Maybe having some milestones to work towards will help.”

“I think I’d really like that,” Aurora agreed. “I’ve got another surgery next week when Harry and I get back from London and then I’ll have my check-up appointment 2 weeks after that. I could probably discuss the long term plan at the follow-up, but could you maybe come with me?”

“Of course, I’ll come with you,” Sam said. “When do you leave for London?”

“Tomorrow afternoon, but I can feel Dad gearing up to fight me on it. After yesterday I can’t really blame him for freaking out this time, but if I spend one more day moping around the tower, I’m going to lose it again.”

“Why don’t I talk to him about this trip being a good thing while you go for a run in the park to clear your head?”

“I would really appreciate you talking to him,” Aurora admitted, “and a run sounds perfect right now.

They both stood back up and Sam wrapped his arms around her, holding her tightly against him for a few long minutes, before he left to go talk to Tony. As he walked away, Rori went to change into her active wear.

xXx

It was late by the time Aurora’s flight arrived at Heathrow, and she ordered an uber for the 45 minute ride to Harry’s north London house. He was waiting up for her and the moment the car pulled up to the curb he was out the front door to grab her bag. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders as they walked into the house.

“How was your flight?” he asked while she kicked off her shoes and hung her coat in the hall closet.

“Exhausting,” Rori sighed. “Mind if we just go straight to bed?”

“Of course, love,” Harry replied, taking her hand in his as he carried her bag up the stairs towards the bedroom. She barely kept her eyes open long enough to change out of her clothes and brush her teeth before she collapsed into his bed and snuggled up against him.

xXx

Aurora woke up well before Harry given that she was still running on New York time. She quietly slipped from the bed and padded downstairs to the kitchen, starting a pot of coffee before pulling out what she needed from the fridge. She had an omelette in the skillet in front her and the smell of freshly brewed coffee was in the air when she heard Harry shuffle into the kitchen behind her.

“Morning,” he mumbled his voice low and gruff with sleep.

“Damn,” Rori chuckled. “Was trying to get this finished before you woke up so I could bring it up to you. Happy Birthday baby.” She skipped over to him, throwing her arms around his neck and kissing him deeply. Harry hummed into the kiss, his hands slipping lower as he licked at her lower lip and she opened her mouth to him. “Omelette’s gonna burn if you don’t stop groping my butt,” she murmured against his lips when they pulled apart.

“Let it burn,” Harry groaned, chasing after her lips as she pulled away from him. She giggled when he refused to let her go.

“Harry,” she whined. “At least move us over to the stove if you won’t let go.”

He did as he was told, shuffling them through the kitchen, turning her in his arms until he plastered along her back. She managed to salvage the omelette before it completely burned, sliding it onto a plate and bending over to pull the other one from the oven where she’d placed it to keep it warm. Harry chuckled darkly when she bent over, squeezing her hips when she pushed back against his pelvis.

“None of that mister,” she chided. “Breakfast first, then we can fool around.”

He pouted but took the plates she held out to him, moving over to the kitchen table as she made their coffees before joining him. The moment they’d finished eating Aurora squealed as she was scooped up into Harry’s arms and carried off towards the bedroom.

xXx

They headed into the city as it started to get dark, meeting Harry’s family and some of his friends at a little Chinese restaurant in SoHo. They were shown to a large round table and Aurora quickly hugged Louis, Niall and Liam before she sat down next to Harry with Gemma sitting on her left and Anne on Harry’s right. Conversation flowed easily as the food was brought out and Aurora swiped one of Harry’s spring rolls from his plate.

“Oi!” he gasped, jabbing his chopsticks at her, causing her to giggle and lean over to kiss his cheek. “You’re bloody lucky you’re so cute,” he told her.

After the meal, a waiter brought out a tray of cupcakes with candles lit and the table erupted into a terrible rendition of Happy Birthday. Aurora took a few photos with her phone before Harry blew out the candles and then divvied the cupcakes up around the table.

“How long are you in town for this time?” Gemma asked after they’d finished off the cupcakes.

“Just a few days,” Rori replied. “We’re meeting with our wedding planner to go over some things, but I need to be back in New York by the end of the week.”

“How’s the wedding planning going?”

“Really well, we’ve got the venue, caterer, photographer and the cake all organised already. I had a lot of spare time on my hands after the proposal, so I really got stuck into it all last year.”

“What are you getting done this week then?” Gemma asked.

“We’re doing another walk through at the venue to finalise layout and decide on decorations, colour schemes, all of that.”

“I know the boys have their suits sorted already but we’ll have to start shopping for dresses soon,” Gemma pointed out, an excited smile on her face. “I’m honestly so excited to be Harry’s Best Woman. I really wasn’t expecting him to ask me.”

“Are you kidding me Gem?” Rori laughed. “There’s no one else he would have asked. Especially after I called dibs on Louis being my Man of Honour.” The two girls burst out laughing, drawing Harry’s attention away from his conversion.

“Why am I suddenly nervous?” he asked, looking between his sister and fiancé who were both still giggling.

“Just discussing the bridal party,” Rori said, kissing Harry’s cheek.

“And the fact that you stole my best man?” Harry asked.

“I’m feeling so wanted,” Gemma joked. “And you’re not really that annoyed about it, admit it. You’d give her anything she asked for.”

“I really would,” Harry replied, leaning into kiss Aurora, his hand cupping her cheek as he smiled into the kiss.

“Oi! No snogging at the table!” Louis yelled from across the room, throwing a wadded up napkin at the pair, Niall laughing hysterically when he hit Harry in the side of the head.

“It’s my birthday so if I wanna kiss my fiancé, then I will,” Harry replied before returning to the kiss. Aurora broke away from the kiss in a fit of giggles as Liam and Louis started to boo them.

They all said their goodnights not too much later, and Aurora promised to call Gemma soon to organise a time to go dress shopping with Ella and Lottie soon.

xXx

After breakfast the following morning, they both pulled on their winter coats and walked from Harry’s Hampstead house across the Heath towards the Hill Gardens. They met their wedding planner Rebecca and a member of the grounds team at the Pergola and followed them inside. Even in winter, the place was absolutely beautiful, and Aurora was smiling brightly as they were shown around. Becca pointed out where they could have an arch placed for them to stand under and where the chairs would be placed.

“It’s perfect Harry,” Rori whispered after they had wandered the space for a little while. “I’m so glad we decided on here.”

“And just imagine it with the spring flowers,” he added, wrapping his arms around her as they gazed around the space.

“Well I think we’re good to go,” Becca said, walking back towards the couple after speaking with the staff. “Rori you’ve given me pretty clear design ideas, so I’ll get all the furnishings confirmed and send you through the photos for you to sign off on it, but I think we’re good for the ceremony. Let’s go talk reception.”

The three of them walked out of the gardens to where Becca had parked her car and, in a few minutes, they were back at Harry’s house where they had decided to hold the reception.

“The plan is to have the guests walk back here after the ceremony while we go into the Heath to take photos,” Harry explained as they walked into the house. “We’ve got a large back garden and we were thinking two long tables down either side, dance floor in the middle, bridal party at a table across the back.”

“I’d also like some lights strung up in the trees and maybe over the dance floor,” Rori added, walking Becca around the space.

“And colour scheme is still navy and creams?” the older woman confirmed while she took a few photos of the yard.

“Yes,” Rori agreed. “I don’t want to go too over the top, just something simple and tasteful.”

“Tasteful is definitely something we can do,” Becca promised.

They all headed back inside out of the cold and Harry set about making tea as the two women sat down at the kitchen table to discuss details. Becca had her laptop open and Aurora shared her the link to a Pinterest board where she’d been collecting images of details she liked. They spent a few hours discussing everything until Becca was satisfied, she fully understood what the young couple wanted.

“Thank you again Becca,” Rori said when they started to wrap up. “You’ve made this entire process so easy, and I honestly don’t know how we would have gotten anything done without you.”

“Just doing my job, darling,” Becca replied. “And I should be thanking both of you. I’m so used to dealing with Bridezillas that it’s so refreshing how laid back you’ve both been about everything.”

“There’s enough stress in our lives without letting this become another thing,” Harry said, his arm draped across the back of Rori’s seat. Becca smiled warmly at them.

“So, when are you going dress shopping?” she asked Rori.

“I’m hoping to fly back over next month or in April to go with the girls to get their bridesmaids dresses. They boys’ suits are already getting made, so that’s one more thing ticked off.”

“You’ve already got the suits sorted?” Becca asked in surprise. “You guys have really got this organisation thing down.”

“Harry’s getting his suit made by Gucci,” Rori explained, “and they offered to make the groomsmen’s suits as well, so we just decided to go for it.”

“You two are so down to earth I sometimes forget you’re famous,” Becca laughed, “but Gucci. Damn.”

“I know,” Aurora laughed as well. “I’m working with them to design my dress as well. Maybe we should have got them to sponsor the wedding.”

Becca stayed for a little while longer, chatting with the couple before heading out with promises to email Aurora soon.

“I really don’t know why people make planning a wedding into this super stressful thing,” Harry said when she left.

“Right?” Rori agreed. “I have complete faith in Becca. She knows the vibe I’m going for and I trust her to decide on all the finer details. I just don’t see the point in hyper-fixating on it all. I just want to be able to enjoy the day and have fun.”

“Me too,” Harry said. “I love you.”

“Love you too.”


	3. Another surgery & Harry gets back in the studio: Feb/March 2016

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I am completely talking out my ass with everything medical in this story. 
> 
> Check out my tumblr for fake instagram posts and spotify playlists https://abundanceofsoph.tumblr.com/post/626851540633796608/skyfire-2-the-indefinite-hiatus
> 
> Don’t forget to leave a comment :)

They flew back to New York at the end of the week and Aurora went back to the hospital for her fourth surgery on her hand, as well as getting the skin grafts on her shoulder. When she returned home to the tower the following day she curled up in bed with Harry and they spent the evening watching movies.

“Hey babe?” Harry said during a lull in the film. Aurora hummed in reply, her head resting on his chest while his hands carded through her hair. “I asked Jeff to find me a few musicians to start working with and to find a studio for me to rent. I’m feeling ready to get back to work.”

“Why are you renting a studio when we have a commercial grade studio downstairs?” she asked, not lifting her head.

“That’s your space,” Harry said. “I don’t want to just take over.”

“Harry,” Rori sighed, lifting herself up to look him in eyes. “I don’t know if you noticed, but I’m not exactly using it right now.” Her gaze flicked down to her hand before she looked back at his face. “Besides, I’ll be wherever you are, so it makes more sense for you to get set up here. We can even offer up the spare rooms the lads used last time they visited.”

“You sure?” Harry asked softly.

“Just because I can’t get back to making music yet doesn’t mean you shouldn’t.”

“You don’t need to use your hand to sing,” Harry reminded her, “or to write a song. Why don’t you join me? Always work better when you’re involved.”

“Let’s just see who Jeff finds for you and I’ll think about it,” Rori said. “It’s hard to be in there and not be able to play.”

“I know, love,” Harry murmured, pulling her close to kiss her. “Promise it’ll get better. Just gotta give it time.”

xXx

Jeff arrived at the tower the following week with a producer that Harry had worked with before as well as a drummer, bassist, and guitarist. Aurora didn’t join them, instead letting Harry get settled in with the new team. At the end of their first week working together, Rori had JARVIS order a heap of Chinese food and when it arrived, she headed downstairs to delivery it. She knocked on the door softly before walking in. One of the men stood up quickly to help her with all the bags she was trying to carry one handed for which she was grateful.

“Thought you all might be hungry,” she said. “Wasn’t sure what you liked so I got a bit of everything so help yourselves.”

“Hey love,” Harry said, sauntering over to her side and wrapping her up in his arms. “Thanks for the food.”

“Your welcome, noticed it was getting a little late and JARVIS said it didn’t seem like anyone was going anywhere anytime soon.”

“Yeah we just clicked and everything’s working,” Harry replied. “Everyone, this is Aurora,” he announced to the room. “Rors this is Sarah, Adam, Alex and Mitch.”

“Nice to meet you all,” Rori said with a warm smile. “Didn’t you say there was a guitarist called Tim or Tom or something?”

“Tim,” Harry replied. “He couldn’t make it back after the first day, so Alex called Mitch and thankfully he was available. Bloody incredible too.”

Aurora nodded and went to grab some honey soy chicken from the table. Harry grabbed his own food and then joined her on the sofa. She stayed for a while after the food was finished, enjoying getting to know the odd assortment of musicians. Before it got too late, everyone headed out for the night and Aurora agreed to join them when they all came back in on Monday.

They spent the rest of February in the studio and Aurora found herself starting to find her grove again. Most of the time she just spent chatting with everyone and getting to know them but every so often she would butt in to suggest something or to change some of Harry’s lyrics and every time she did, his face would light up with a huge grin. 

xXx

As March rolled around, Aurora went back to her surgeon for her regular post-surgery check up and as promised Sam joined her. After introducing him to Dr Walker and having her hand assessed once again, the three settled into their seats to discuss.

“I think what I’m looking for is a clearer picture of what we’re trying to accomplish with all of these surgeries,” Aurora said. “Like, we’ve been doing one every month or so and I’m not seeing much improvement so I’m just hoping you can explain a little more about what your goals are?”

“Well I would like to continue operating every 4-6 weeks as that provides your body with enough time to recover without dragging this out longer than it needs to be. In terms of what the goals are I’m hoping that after the next 2 procedures, we can get you started in physical therapy. I’d say by the end of the year you should be able to bend your fingers; grasp objects and your hand should be weight bearing to an extent.” Aurora froze in her seat. Dr Walkers tone made it clear that she thought this would be incredible progress and Aurora instantly realised that she had been horribly mistaken in her own expectations.

Sam quickly noticed how she deflated and stepped in. “I think we were under the assumption that we were working towards Rori being able to play piano again. In your opinion what kind of time frame would we be looking at and what work would need to be done to achieve that goal?”

“I know this isn’t what you want to hear Aurora,” Dr Walker replied softly. “But given the extent of your injuries, I just don’t see it being a realistic goal for you to aim for. The level of dexterity needed to play any instrument will most likely be beyond what you will be capable of, even with another dozen surgeries and years of therapy. I’m very sorry, but I don’t want to give you false hope. For now, I think it’s better to be focusing on getting you back to being able to accomplish simple everyday tasks.”

Rori nodded in understanding, not really trusting herself to speak as she felt her heart breaking. She had gone through so much pain and discomfort in the months since the shooting and she had been willing to go through it all so that she could play again, but now she was wondering if it was even worth continuing with the surgeries at all. Sam continued the conversation without her, seeking clarifications on the half a dozen surgeries Dr Walker already had planned. He asked about the purpose and intended outcome of each operation and Aurora was only half paying attention as she spiralled.

“What about the pain?” she finally asked. “It always hurts. When will that stop?”

“There will always be some discomfort,” Dr Walker explained. “Most likely when it’s cold you will feel an ache, similar to what you’ve experienced with your shoulder, but once the plates and screws are removed the more intense pain should lessen.”

“And you were planning to remove those around November?” Sam clarified, somehow aware that she had not been paying attention earlier. Dr Walker nodded, causing the colour to run from Rori’s face.

“I’m going to be in this much pain until November?” she asked.

“If your current prescription isn’t helping, we can look to change that,” Dr Walker replied.

“They make me dizzy,” Rori admitted. “I haven’t really been taking them much.”

“How about I write you a different a prescription and we try something else?”

Aurora agreed, once again falling silent while Sam clarified further points until eventually, they left and headed home.

“I know its not what you wanted to hear,” Sam said as they stepped out of the elevator and into the penthouse. “But we’ll get through this.”

“Sam, I appreciate that, but I think I just need to wallow in this today,” she admitted. “Can we save the pep talk for tomorrow?”

Sam nodded and Aurora quickly hustled her way down the hall towards her room before she ran into either of her fathers. She knew she couldn’t fake a smile for them with the tears she could feel building in her eyes. As soon has her bedroom door closed behind her, the first sob broke from her chest, ripping her apart. She didn’t even notice when Harry joined her on the bed 20 minutes later. He didn’t speak, instead crawling to her side and holding her tightly as she sobbed into his chest.


	4. Tough Decisions & Bridesmaids Dresses: March 2016

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Check out my tumblr for fake instagram posts and spotify playlists https://abundanceofsoph.tumblr.com/post/626851540633796608/skyfire-2-the-indefinite-hiatus
> 
> Don’t forget to leave a comment :)

It wasn’t an easy decision to make but after 5 months and nearly as many surgeries, Aurora was in pain. Her hand constantly ached, sleeping was difficult, and her life was so disrupted by the constant doctors’ appointments that she was reaching her breaking point. She talked to Sam about it first, explaining the research she’d been doing online since their appointment with Dr Walker and she explained her plan to him. He listened and told her that while it was her choice, she really needed to talk to Tony and Steve about it, as well as Harry, but before she could have those discussions, she went to talk to someone else. 

Since she’d first met him, Bucky had come a long way in his recovery, and she had slowly learnt to trust him. That wasn’t to say they were friends exactly, but they got along enough that Steve was happy. So, it was weird for Aurora to be standing in the doorway of his bedroom knocking on the frame with a nervous smile. 

“Mind if I come in?” she asked when he looked up from his book. He nodded in confusion and she walked across the room, taking a seat in the desk chair and facing him. 

“Are you ok?” he asked. 

“I was hoping I could ask you about your arm,” Aurora began, looking at her lap and playing with the hem of her shirt. “What’s it like? Having a part of your body that’s not really yours?”

“I guess I don’t really think about it much,” Bucky shrugged. “I hated the old one. The Hydra one. It hurt a lot but once your dad built me this one things are better, and it’s been so long I guess it doesn’t really feel like it isn’t me. Why do you ask?”

“The surgeons don’t think I’ll ever get full mobility back in my hand,” she said, “and it hurts constantly.”

“You’re thinking about cutting it off,” Bucky said, no hint of question in his tone, but Aurora answered him anyway. 

“Yeah. I think I can get my life back if I do. I just thought I should talk to the only one around here with a prosthetic before I tell my dads and Harry.”

“Good luck with that,” Bucky replied, a small smile lighting up his face. 

“Gee, thanks,” Rori scoffed. “I should probably go talk to them now.”

She stood up from the desk chair, pausing in the doorway as Bucky spoke up again. 

“For what it’s worth, I think it’s the right decision.”

xXx

It took a few days for Aurora to work up the nerve to tell her parents. She knew that Harry would support her so she wasn’t worried about his reaction and decided to tell the three of them together in the hope that Harry’s calm support would help soften Tony’s reaction. Sam and Bucky helped keep the rest of the team away, ensuring that it was just the four of them at dinner one evening and Aurora spent most of the meal psyching herself up. Steve was cleaning the dishes from the table when she realised that she’d run out of time.

“Umm, there’s something I need to tell you all,” she finally said.

“This about why Sam went to your appointment with you last week?” Harry asked, having noticed how distracted she had been since.

“It is.”

“Are you ok?” Tony asked nervously.

“Sam and I have been working a lot on putting together a plan to get my life back together,” Rori began, ignoring her fathers’ question. “That’s why he went to with me last week. We talked to Dr Walker but what a realistic future looks like for me and based on what she told me and some conversations I’ve had with Sam and Bucky, I’ve made a decision.”

“Bucky?” Steve asked in confusion.

Aurora ignored him, watching as a look of understanding crossed Harry’s face, already catching up with Aurora’s plan. He reached across the table to squeeze her hand, silently telling her that he was with her on this. “Dr Walker believes that while I will, in time, regain limited use of my left hand, she doesn’t think I will ever be able to play piano again, at least not to the ability I used to. I’m looking at a dozen more surgeries and I’m tired. I’m in pain all the time and I just want to take back control of my own body.”

“Aurora…” Tony interrupted; his tone low with a hint of warning as if trying to stop her from what she was about to say.

She looked him in the eyes as she continued. “I’ve decided to amputate my hand and I’m hoping you will agree to build me a prosthetic.”

“Are you sure about this?” Steve asked while Tony and Aurora stared at each other in silence.

“I’ve spent a lot of time thinking this through,” Aurora said, turning to look at him. “I’ve done my research; I’ve talked to my surgeon. I’ve talked to Sam and I asked Bucky about what it’s like. I need to do this, and I need your support; It’s not going to be easy.”

“Of course, you have our support, bug,” Steve promised.

“You’re the only one that can make this decision for yourself and if you’re sure that it’s the right call then I’m going to be here for you every step of the way,” Harry added, his hand never leaving hers.

“Thank you,” Rori said, her eyes flicking back to Tony’s. He had yet to say a word. “Dad?” she asked, her hand shaking in Harry’s at the thought that he would argue.

“I hate that this happened to you, kiddo,” he finally admitted, his eyes damp with unshed tears. “I hate that you’re having to make this choice, but of course we’re going to be here for you.” Aurora smiled brightly, her own eyes growing damp as she launched herself out of her seat and into his arms. “Gonna make you the best damn prosthetic anyone’s ever seen,” he murmured as they hugged.

xXx

The next day Aurora contacted Dr Walker and the amputation surgery was scheduled for the second week in April. In the meantime, Aurora and Harry flew back to London so that she could go shopping with Gemma and her two bridesmaids, Ella and Lottie Tomlinson, to pick out their dresses for the wedding.

She smiled brightly as she approached the bridal boutique and saw the three girls waiting for her out front. They all hugged and then made their way inside, greeting the staff and explaining what they were looking for.

“Ok so I want you all in navy blue dresses but other than that it’s completely up to you,” Rori told the girls. “Pick whatever style you like, but I think it would maybe look cute if you all decide on the same hem length.”

They laugh and catch up as they girls flip through the racks of dresses, periodically disappearing into the changing room before re-emerging for everyone else opinions. Eventually they settle on dresses with the same lose flowing skirt that fall from their waists to the floor, but each of the women opt for a different neckline; Gemma’s is off-shoulder, Lottie’s is a sweetheart with lace illusion, while Ella’s is a one shouldered asymmetrical design. The dress maker takes their measurements and Aurora confirms the shade of navy blue she wants and then once the order is confirmed they leave and head off to find somewhere for lunch. They spend the rest of the afternoon chatting over food and plenty of coffees, discussing plans for a bachelorette party and Aurora’s upcoming surgery.

“Are you nervous?” Ella asked.

“A little,” Aurora admitted. “I mean it’s pretty full on but it’s also the right thing to do. I can’t keep pretending that they’ll magically fix my hand and it’ll be like nothing ever happened.

“But amputation?” Ella replied, “It just seems drastic.”

“So’s getting shot,” Aurora replied with a shrug. “Doesn’t make it any less necessary.”

“I don’t think I’d be anywhere near as calm,” Lottie added. “You’re so brave.”

“Trust me I’ve had my tantrums and I’ve lost count of how many nights Harry has had to deal with me crying over it all, but I don’t want to spend my life feeling like a victim. It happened; I can’t change it so instead I’m just going to make the best of the situation.”

“Like I said,” Lottie replied. “You’re so brave.”

Ella lifted her half empty coffee mug in mock cheers. “To Rori, the bravest badass bitch I’ve ever known.”

Her words had the effect she’d hoped for, eliciting laughter from all of them and breaking through the serious mood that had briefly gripped them.

“The bravest badass bitch,” Gemma echoed with a chuckle, lifting her own coffee mug to cheers with Ella’s.


	5. Tattoos, Amputations and Art: April 2016

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Check out my tumblr for fake instagram posts and spotify playlists https://abundanceofsoph.tumblr.com/post/626851540633796608/skyfire-2-the-indefinite-hiatus
> 
> Don’t forget to leave a comment :)

A week before the surgery, Aurora and Harry were curled up in bed.

“Rori? I’ve had an idea.”

“Why does that sentence make me worried,” Rori joked.

“Yeah, ha ha, you’re hilarious,” Harry deadpanned. “Shut up I’m trying to be cute.”

“Oh, sorry dear.” She replied with a mockingly serious tone. “Please proceed.”

Harry rolled his eyes at her. “I was thinking we could go get tattoos together before your surgery next week.”

“Oooh, that sounds like fun.” She grinned over at him from where her head lay on his pillow. “It’s been so long since we got tattooed together. I don’t know what I’d get though, I’m pretty happy with the ones I’ve got.”

Harry peeled back the bedsheet covering her torso, tracing his fingers across the familiar ink spreading out across her rib cage. “Well I was thinking maybe we could your IronMan and Cap one redone on your other wrist since you’ve mentioned a couple of times that you miss it.”

“Oh harry,” she sighed. “That sounds perfect.”

“Just thought that way you’d still be keeping a part of your left hand with you.”

“I love when you get all sentimental,” she said, kissing the tip of his nose. “What are you gonna get?”

Harry blushed. “Thought I might get a palm tree after our trip to St Lucia.”

“It really was beautiful there wasn’t it?”

“Yeah it was,” he agreed, smiling softly as his hand traced the skin of her hip. “Maybe we should go back for our honeymoon.”

“I’d love that.” She lifted herself up on her elbow to look down at him, leaning in to kiss him deeply as his hands moved to grab at her waist, pulling her closer to him. She burst out laughing as she lost her balance and fell on top of him. His laughter echoed hers before their lips reconnected.

xXx

Aurora found herself in a tattoo parlour the following afternoon, her right arm stretched out for the artist sitting in front her. She was smiling softly as she watched him ink in the familiar design that was now nearly unrecognisable on her other wrist. While she’d never thought of replicating the tattoo, she was glad that Harry had suggested it and that he was sitting in the chair next to her, just as he had been the first time she received the tattoo in question. She looked up from her own artwork, to watch Harry’s palm tree come to life above his elbow. He caught her eye, smiling widely back at her. Since his piece was simple black and white line work, his artist finished much sooner that hers and after he was cleaned up and the tattoo wrapped, he scooted over to sit beside her, his hand resting on her elbow, unable to hold her hand due the brace.

“Looks good, love,” he said when the artist finished, quickly cleaning and wrapping the plastic around her wrist.

“Thank you for suggesting I do this,” Aurora whispered, pecking a soft kiss to his lips. “Feels right to have it back again.”

xXx

When they got back to the tower with their new tattoos, Aurora headed downstairs to the workshop while Harry joined Steve and Bucky in the living room where they were watching TV.

“Hey kiddo,” Tony said in greeting when Aurora walked through the glass door. “How’s the new tattoo?”

“Perfect,” Rori smiled, pulling out her phone to show him the photo Harry had taken before it was covered in plastic. “Looks just like the original.”

“Love it,” Tony replied.

“Can I ask a favour dad?”

“Of course, you can kiddo. What’s up?”

“Would it be ok if just Harry comes with me to the hospital next week?” Aurora asked. “I’m ok with you and pops both being there when I get out of surgery, but I think I’d just like Harry to be there before I go in.”

“Of course,” Tony replied. “Whatever you need.”

“Thanks dad.”

xXx

Aurora was sitting up in the hospital bed, a light blanket pulled up over her legs, a sheer hospital gown covering her torso. One of the nurses had come by earlier to help remove the brace and all the taping from her hand and it was now propped up on a pillow in her lap as she waited, scar tissue covering every inch of visible skin, her fingers curled up uncomfortably. She ran the fingers of her right hand along the scars, tracing them from the tips of her fingers, over the back of her hand and up past her wrist before flipping her hand over and touching every inch of her palm. She started crying softly as she mapped the familiar expanse of skin, unsure what it would feel like to look down and see nothing when she woke up again later that day.

“It’s not too late to change your mind,” Harry whispered, wiping her tears away with the pads of his thumbs as he sat next to her on the edge of the bed.

She shook her head, looking up to meet his eyes. “This is the right thing to do, just confronting to think I won’t have a hand in a few hours.”

“You are so brave,” Harry told her. “I love you so much.”

“I love you too Harry,” she replied. “Wouldn’t have made it this far without you.” He kissed her cheek, reaching out and taking hold her right hand in his. She watched him lace their fingers together, the light catching on her engagement ring. She knew that she would have to take it off shortly before she went into the OR, but she left it on for now. “You know,” she murmured, staring at the ring. “I’d kind of figured that by the time we got to the wedding this would be on my left hand where it belongs.”

Harry squeezed her hand, placing kisses to her temple. “Doesn’t matter which hand it’s on,” he replied. “Still means the same thing.”

“I’m scared Harry,” Aurora admitted, her eyes still firmly glued to the ring. 

He placed his thumb and forefinger on her chin, lifting her head until she was looking at him. “I’m not going to lie and say that everything will be easy, but it will be ok. You’ve already survived the worst of it, and you are so strong. I’m gonna be right here waiting for you when you wake up.”

She kissed him deeply, his hand not holding hers coming to rest on her cheek, his thumb moving back and forth across her cheekbone as they both deepened the kiss. They both pulled apart when a nurse entered the room and cleared her throat. She blushed deeply when they both looked over at her, slightly out of breath. “I’m sorry to interrupt,” she said, “but we’re ready for you now Miss Stark.”

“See you soon, love,” Harry murmured. He kissed her again quickly before standing up and stepping back to allow the nurse to wheel Aurora from the room. Aurora slipped the ring from her finger and placed it in his palm.

“Keep this safe for me,” she told him.

“I love you, Aurora,” Harry said as she neared the door.

“Love you too, H” she replied.

xXx

A little over a week after the operation, Aurora made her way to the elevator. She was wearing a pair of dark grey leggings and one of Harry’s knitted sweaters, the oversized garment hanging off her shoulders and falling midway down her thighs. The right sleeve fell down to almost cover the tips of her fingers while the left sleeve swung freely at the end, her arm ending halfway along her forearm. The penthouse was empty as she crossed the living room, stepping into the elevator and telling JARVIS which floor she needed. The Avengers had all left the previous day on a mission, neither Steve nor Tony wanting to leave her, but both agreed to go once she reminded them that Harry would be there with her the entire time.

She made her way into the recording studio, smiling softly as she watched Harry working away with his new team. His long curls were swept back from his face by a pair of sunglasses perched on the top of his head, a loud Hawaiian shirt hanging off his shoulder, unbuttoned and swinging loosely as he sang. Aurora always loved watching Harry sing, relishing the way his dimples popped in his cheeks as he smiled, and the creases by his eyes crinkling. Happiness radiated off him when he was in the studio and Rori loved basking in it. No one had noticed her entrance and she lent against the door frame, soaking in the sounds of the unfamiliar song. Her lips quirked up and she bit back a laugh as she listened to the lyrics.

“Said I’m having your baby,” Harry sang. “It’s none of your business.”

“I think if I was having your baby it would be your business,” Aurora joked when the song petered out a few moments later.

Harry’s eyes snapped up to where she stood, he face lighting up. “I’d like to hope so,” he laughed, gesturing for her to join him. She crossed the room coming to a stop in front of him, but let out a surprised squeal when he reached out, grabbing her by the hips and pulling her onto his lap.

“Rude,” she laughed.

“Missed you,” he murmured into her ear before kissing her cheek. “You getting lonely upstairs with everyone gone.”

“A little,” Rori admitted. “But I also need your help. I’ve been trying to tie my hair up for the last half an hour, but I can’t get it up one handed.”

“Ponytail, Braid or Bun?” he asked, taking the hair tie from her hand as she spun around to face away from him.

“Whatever’s easiest,” Aurora replied. “Thinking I might try painting this afternoon and I just don’t want to get paint in it.”

Harry placed a kiss on her shoulder, trying to hide his excitement that she was finally feeling ready to venture back into her and Steve’s studio. He started combing his fingers through her hair before beginning to braid it down the centre of her head and down the back of her neck. “All done,” he declared a few minutes later once he snapped the hair tie into place.

“Thanks baby,” she smiled, leaning back against his chest when his arms wrapped around her waist.

“You’re welcome,” he said, kissing her shoulder again. “How are you feeling?”

“Better,” Rori replied. “Feeling less off balanced today and the stitches aren’t itching anymore.”

“Good.” He continued kissing across her shoulder, his chin coming to rest in the crook of her neck. “Promise you’ll tell me if it’s not, yeah?”

“Promise,” she replied, her right hand resting over his own. “Now sing for me.”

He laughed, but quickly fell back into the swing of working. She stayed there for a while listening as they worked, occasionally offering up a suggestion here and there before leaving with a kiss to Harry’s forehead after an hour or so.

She slowly made her way out into the hallway, padding over the carpet barefoot until she reached the door to the art studio she shared with her Pops and pushed open the door. The sun was streaming through the window and she took a moment to admire the latest sketches that Steve had been working on since she’d last been down here. Before the shooting, barely a day went by that she hadn’t come down here, but she hadn’t step foot inside since the disastrous day in January.

She saw the half started canvas still on its easel over in the corner, drawing her in as if in challenge. It felt as though it was mocking her, a physical reminder of one of her lowest moments, an acknowledgment of her inability to do what she loved. She stood up straighter, setting her shoulders in determination before dragging the easel out to the middle of the room along with a stool to place her palette on and requesting JARVIS play one of her favourite playlists.

It was much later in the afternoon when Harry excused himself from the others and headed down the hall to check in on Aurora. Without realising it, he mirrored her earlier position, leaning against the door frame, smiling warmly as he watched the way her brow furrowed, and she held a paintbrush in her mouth while she splashed paint across the canvas with another. Knowing how much it had pained her to be without her art for months, he was over the moon to finally see her back in her element. Music was playing softly through the speakers in the ceiling, filling the studio with a peaceful atmosphere. Harry bit back a laugh as they current song ended, and the start of _End of the Day_ played. He lost his battle over his laughter when Aurora started dancing on the spot while she painted, spinning around to face him with a soft blush on her cheeks.

“How long have you been standing there?” she asked, putting down her brushes when he walked across the room to kiss her.

“Long enough to know you’ve found your groove again.” He looked over her shoulder at the canvas, a sprawling countryside on a spring day filling the scene.

“You like it?” she asked, smiling softly.

Harry hummed in response as he continued taking in the details of the painting. “Getting late though,” he pointed out, looking towards the setting sun outside. “We were thinking of getting Pizza.”

“Why don’t you invite everyone upstairs for a movie night?” Rori asked, already walking over to the sink in the corner to clean her brushes out.

“I’ll go ask,” Harry said. “Meet you up there?”

“See you in a few,” she agreed.


	6. Harry makes a movie while Rori makes some music: May 2016

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Check out my tumblr for fake instagram posts and spotify playlists https://abundanceofsoph.tumblr.com/post/626851540633796608/skyfire-2-the-indefinite-hiatus
> 
> Don’t forget to leave a comment :)

Aurora knew she was moping, but she couldn’t help it. Harry looked across at her from where he sat nearby, a smirk lifting the corner of his lips as he watched her. “Would you stop that?” he asked with a chuckle, drawing his mothers’ attention.

“Leave me alone, H,” Aurora replied, noticing the way that Anne’s gaze flicked between the two of them in confusion.

“What am I missing?” she asked her son.

“She’s mad at me,” Harry explained, looking not at all put out by the fact.

“I’m not mad,” Aurora argued. “I’m in mourning.”

“You’re being ridiculous,” Harry laughed.

She rolled her eyes at him, remembering the conversation that had that had led them to now.

**_“Love, you know how I went to London a few months back to audition for that movie?” Harry had asked her. “I got it.”_ **

**_“Really?” Aurora had cheered, throwing herself into his arms and hugging him tightly. “OMG! Harry I’m so proud of you.” She’d placed kissed all over his face before settling on his lips. “You’ll be fantastic.”_ **

**_“I’ve got to cut my hair,” he told her. Her face had fallen, the fingers of her right hand instantly moving to his long curls to tangle in them._ **

**_“But I love your hair,” she had pouted. “How short does it need to go?”_ **

**_“Military short.”_ **

**_She let go of him, stepping backwards. “I hate this.”_ **

**_“I’m sorry love,” he’s replied softly. “It’ll grow back.”_ **

Now there she was, watching on as a hairdresser straightened out his hair, pulling it tightly back to the nape of his neck, scissors in hand. He laughed when Aurora winced, turning her head so she didn’t watch.

“It’s just hair,” he reminded her.

“Yeah and now it’s gone,” she sniped.

Anne chuckled as the pair continued to bicker while the haircut continued. When it was all over Harry took some photos of the ponytail and then he took his mum and fiancé out for lunch, hoping to snap Aurora out of her depressing mood by taking them to her favourite sushi bar.

xXx

Harry left for France a few weeks later, leaving Aurora in New York. She put on a brave face until he was out the door and on the plane, and then she hid herself away in her room. She felt ridiculous for being so dependant on him; the majority of their relationship had been long distance, but she had gotten so used to him being there every day since Christmas, that the idea of being separated for months was heartbreaking. Steve knocked on her door the evening after Harry left, letting himself in and sitting down beside where she was curled up on the bed.

“You feel like talking about it?” he asked softly.

“Not really,” Aurora mumbled.

“Do you want me to leave you alone?”

“No,” she replied.

“He’ll be back before you know it,” Steve promised, laying down to wrap his arms around her.

“It’s not just Harry being gone,” Aurora explained, curling into his side. “I should have been graduating next week.”

“Ever think about going back?”

“I don’t think I can. Just the thought of being back there has me shaking.”

“That’s ok,” Steve said. “I know Dad made a big deal about you going to college, but you don’t exactly need the degree.”

“Just feel like I failed though,” Aurora admitted. “I guess I’ve never really said that out loud, but I do. I feel like I was so close to finishing and that I’m always going to be a college dropout now.”

“You’re not a failure, bug,” Steve replied. “You have overcome so much, and you should be so damn proud of that. I know I am and so is your dad. You’ve got nothing to feel ashamed about. You’ve got your art and your music, and you don’t need a piece of paper to be successful and happy.”

“Thanks Pops,” she murmured, burying her face into his chest. “I’m so glad I have you and Dad.”

“Always,” Steve promised, “for anything you need.”

xXx

It was only after Harry left for France that Aurora realized how much she had enjoyed being back in the studio making music and now that he and his new band were gone, she missed it. She tried for an afternoon to work on her own but found the entire process too frustrating and ended up texting Mark to help find a solution

**◊Aurora: hey can you find me a writing partner? I’m feeling inspired but need an extra hand both physically and metaphorically.**

**◊Mark: I’ll get right on it. Anyone in mind?**

**◊Aurora: no clue but I feel like you know me well enough to know who I’d vibe with.**

2 days later she received a text from someone unexpected.

**◊Niall: Hey babe, I hear you’re looking for a writing partner which is perfect because I’m not sure if you heard, but my band is on a break and I have a LOT of free time on my hands. What do you say I come hang out with ya for a bit?**

**◊Aurora: I’d really like that Ni and I’m pretty sure my dads will stop watching me every second of every day if you come stay with us for a bit.**

**◊Niall: consider me on the next flight… or at some point in the next few days, let’s be realistic.**

xXx

True to his word, Niall arrived a few days later and the pair spent the day catching up on everything they’d missed since last seeing each other 4 months ago. Niall had been spending some much needed time back in Ireland with his family, but he had been excited when Mark reached out looking for someone to work with Aurora. They made their way down to the studio the second day of his stay and started kicking around ideas. For the most part, Aurora set herself up on the sofa, humming melodies and throwing out lyrics while Niall pulled out his guitar to accompany her.

After a few days of goofing around and not really coming up with anything either of them liked, Niall caught Rori’s eyes flicking to the grand piano in the corner of the room. “You miss playing?” he asked her.

“All the time,” she sighed. “I’ll get back to it eventually. Dad and Peter have already started work on a protype prosthetic and once I’m healed up, I can start getting it fitted.”

“I’ve never known you to be very patient,” Niall pointed out.

“Yeah it’s something knew I’m trying out,” she chuckled. “Some days I’m better at it than others. Just keep reminding myself that a few months is better than never.”

“Wanna try something?” he asked, holding out his hand for her. She took it, letting him pull her to her feet and lead her towards the piano.

“Ni…” she began to protest.

“Shut up,” he interrupted. “Just sit down.” She shook her head but did as he said, the fingers of her right hand automatically laying across the familiar keys. “You remember the notes for _Night Changes_?”

“Of course I do, but I can’t play Niall.”

“Just trust me,” he replied, nudging her side with his elbow where he sat next to her on the bench. “Play.”

She bit back any further argument and started playing the familiar notes. It was one of her favourites which was probably why he’d suggested it. Her eyes were trained on the ivory keys in front of her, so at first, she didn’t notice when his own hand lifted towards the piano, playing the left hand of the song. She smiled as he joined her, the timing slightly off until they found the right rhythm and then they both picked up the lyrics together. Her grin only grew as they sang, his right arm slung around her shoulder as they played together. As they reached the end of the song Aurora turned to hug her friend, unable to put into words how it felt to finally be getting back to the person she’d always been.

They spent the rest of the day at the piano, playing some of their favourites and just having fun. They lost track of time and as it neared dinner time, Steve came down to let everyone know food was on the table. Despite the fact that Tony told him time and time again that he could just have JARVIS let them know, he liked coming downstairs to get everyone, to which Tony would always mumble something about him being old fashioned and stuck in the 40s. He went to the recording studio first, opening the door slowly, not wanting to interrupt if they were in the middle of something. He paused in the doorway, a soft smile on his face as he watched the pair at the piano, his heart bursting with love at the way Aurora’s head was thrown back in a fit of laughter. Steve quickly left the room before either of them noticed him and he walked across the hall to the workshop where his husband and Peter were working away. “Tony,” he said when he entered the room, “drop whatever you’re doing. You need to come see this.”

Tony and Peter followed him back across the hall and all three of them watched on silently as Niall and Aurora played and sang. Steve wrapped his arms around Tony as the shorter man lent his head against his husband’s chest, both smiling brightly at their daughter’s joy. Peter snuck his phone out of his pocket, filming the two of them performing a terrible cover of _Bye, Bye, Bye,_ having too much fun to be focusing on singing well. When the song finished, Niall caught sight of their audience over his shoulder, nudging Aurora with his elbow and drawing her attention to her parents and Peter standing in the doorway.

“Sorry to interrupt,” Steve said when the pair spotted them. “Just came down to tell you dinner’s ready and got caught up in the concert.”

Rori was still smiling as she stood up and walked across the room. Tony hugged her tightly when she reached him. “Good to see you at the piano again kiddo,” he murmured against her ear.

“Honestly felt so incredible,” she replied, smiling brightly as Tony threw his arm around her shoulder, leading her out of the room towards the elevator.


	7. Niall in NYC: May 2016

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Check out my tumblr for fake instagram posts and spotify playlists   
> https://abundanceofsoph.tumblr.com/post/626851540633796608/skyfire-2-the-indefinite-hiatus
> 
> Don’t forget to leave a comment :)
> 
> The songs written in this chapter are obviously Seeing Blind and Andie Case's cover of Reaper.

Niall stayed in New York for 3 weeks, during which time he and Aurora finished half a dozen songs, most of which they decided not to keep, only hanging onto 2 for themselves. The first one was something a bit light and fun, Niall played guitar while they both sang the lyrics they’d come up with the previous day, the chorus coming to them first before they started piecing together verses.

_Oh, my, my, you just took me by surprise  
And I can't believe my eyes  
Oh, I must be seeing blind  
Oh no, now you're too good to be all mine  
Now I'm looking in your eyes  
Oh, I must be seeing blind_

Once they finished the lyrics Aurora went to the mixing desk, turning on the microphones they needed, and they went about recording the song in full, with Niall’s guitar forming the instrumental track.

“I’ll probably add some drums and stuff into that, but I think that’s gonna have to be on my album when I finally release one,” Niall mused when they finished the song.

“If you were thinking that why did I just spend the last few hours recording my voice?” Aurora asked. She laughed from where she sat behind the mixing desk, making sure all the tracks were correctly exported and saved.

“Well you’re still gonna be on it, obviously,” Niall said, looking over at her.

“Obviously?” Aurora echoed, arching her brow with a cheeky grin.

Niall rolled his eyes in response. “Would you please sing on my debut album, love?” he asked, matching her grin with one of his own.

“I would be honoured Mr Horan,” she replied.

The other song they decided not to give away to another artist was one they both agreed Aurora needed to keep for herself for when she was ready to start releasing music again.

“Been sitting on some lyrics for a few months,” Rori explained one afternoon, late in the second week of Niall’s visit.

“Lay ‘em on me,” Niall replied. He was laying flat on his back, staring up at the ceiling while Rori was perched on the sofa near his feet. He lifted himself up on his elbows to look at her when she hesitated.

She mentally shook herself, scrolling through the notes app on her phone where she’d been working and reworking the words for weeks. “Ok here it goes,” she mumbled.

_Don't come for me today  
I'm feeling good  
I'mma savour it  
Don't come for me today  
I'm feeling good  
I remember when_

_You came to take me away  
So close I was to heaven's gates  
But no baby, no baby, not today  
Oh, you tried to track me down  
You followed me like the darkest cloud  
But no baby, no baby, not today  
Oh reaper  
Oh no baby, no baby, not today  
Oh reaper  
Oh no baby, no baby, not today_

_So come back when I'm good to go  
I got drinks to drink, and men to hold  
I got good things to do with my life, yeah  
Oh, I wanna dance in the open breeze  
Feel the wind in my hair, hear the ocean sing  
I got good things to feel in my life, yeah_

“Holy shit,” Niall said when she finished.

“I figured I’d just repeat the bridge and chorus at the end and add a verse at the start. Drums, piano and maybe a fat bass line, but yeah, I don’t know.” She looked down at her lap self-consciously, feeling nervous after finally sharing something so personal.

“Rori that was incredible,” Niall gasped, sitting up to reach out and place a hand on her knee. “Bloody incredible.”

“Yeah?” she asked, finally meeting his eye, her bottom lip caught between her teeth.

“Yeah,” Niall said. “Now let’s see what we can do about that first verse.

They worked away at the song for the next few days. Niall recorded the piano for the track, and they finished Aurora’s vocal track but agreed to wait until Harry was back to see if his drummer and bassist would help finish the instrumentals.

xXx

“We should go out,” Niall announced one afternoon, a few days before he was set to fly back to Ireland.

“I haven’t really been out since the surgery,” Aurora replied.

“Exactly!” Niall said. “You love going out dancing and you can’t keep hiding in this tower for the rest of your life Rapunzel.”

“You’re not going to take no for an answer, are you?”

“Nope.”

“Alright, fine,” Aurora relented with a roll of her eyes. “Where are we going?”

They ended up finding their way to a private club downtown, frequented by celebrities and trust fund kids, and Aurora was nervous. It had been a little over a month since her amputation and apart from going to her doctor’s appointments, she had yet to leave the tower and let the world see her. The gossip magazines had run with the story in the week after the surgery, somehow having found out about it, but as of yet no one had gotten a photo of her. Niall held her hand tightly in his, painfully aware of her nerves but confident that he was doing the right thing by pushing her to go out.

He was wearing a simple pair of black slacks and white button up shirt while Aurora had opted for a pair of high waisted skinny jeans, cuffed over her tan ankle boots. She’d finished the outfit with a forest green, long sleeved crop top and she’d had the left sleeved hemmed just below the end of her stump so that while the stump was completely covered, the sleeve wasn’t flapping around. They avoided being spotted as they climbed out of the car and entered the club, which helped to settle Rori’s nerves. Niall ordered a pint for himself and a virgin cocktail for Aurora and the pair chatted for a little before he dragged her out on the dancefloor. After a few songs she started to loosen up and eventually started having fun. By the end of the night they were both giggling and sweaty having danced for hours, singing along to their favourite songs. For Aurora, if only for a few hours, it felt like she was back on the tour last summer, dancing with Niall at one of the many afterparties they always went to. For just a night she was her old self and she knew that this was why he’d insisted they go out.

It was late by the time Niall accepted that he was a bit too drunk and they made their way out onto the street. The night was cool but not too freezing, so they decided to walk a little bit to try and get Niall to sober up a little bit before heading back to the tower. They were both still laughing and joking around as they stumbled along, arms wrapped around each other’s shoulders. After walking for a few blocks, the cold breeze started to cause Rori to shiver and she decided it was time to head home, shaking her head at how uncooperative Niall was being. He was still drunk enough that he tried booking them an uber, despite the fact that Rori had already text Happy to come get them. By the time they finally made it back to the tower they were both exhausted, and Niall didn’t even make it to the room he’d been staying in, collapsing onto the sofa in Aurora’s living room instead. She went into her room to change into her pyjamas and returned to the sofa with a few blankets, nudging him until he rolled over to make room for her and they both fell asleep, cuddled up against each other. 

xXx

“Hey, Niall?” Aurora said on their last afternoon in the studio before he flew home.

“Yeah?” he replied, looking up from his guitar.

“Thank you,” she whispered. “For coming out here and spending time with me, I mean.”

“Of course, love,” he said, smiling softly back at her. “You know I love hanging out with ya.”

“You know what I mean, Niall.” She sighed. “I was feeling so lost and useless. You can’t imagine the relief I feel knowing that I can still do this.” She gestured to the studio surrounding them, the instruments littering the space and the sheet music scattered across the floor. 

“You’re welcome,” Niall replied, his smile growing as he looked over at his friend. “Didn’t really have to even think about it. As soon as I heard you were struggling, I knew I was coming out.”

“And I love you for it.”

“It’s what family’s for right?” he asked. “Wouldn’t be a very good brother if I didn’t show up when you needed me.”


	8. Louis in NYC: June 2016

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Check out my tumblr for fake instagram posts and spotify playlists  
> https://abundanceofsoph.tumblr.com/post/626851540633796608/skyfire-2-the-indefinite-hiatus
> 
> Don’t forget to leave a comment :)
> 
> The song is Tom Walkers Leave a Light On :)

The night after Niall left, Aurora woke with a start, sweat beading across her forehead and her left arm aching. She laid still in the darkness, staring up towards the ceiling as her chest heaved with every laboured breath. After a while she began to calm but after looking at the clock and seeing that it was around 4 in the morning she groaned, knowing that she wouldn’t be able to get back to sleep. She grabbed her phone off the bedside table and opened WhatsApp.

**◊Aurora: Are you free?**

**◊Harry: I am. What are you doing up so early?**

Instead of replying, she hit the call button at the top of the screen, waiting as the dial tone rang for a brief moment.

“What’s wrong love?” Harry asked.

“Sorry,” Aurora murmured. “Are you sure I’m not interrupting anything?”

“Not at all. We’re just broke for an early lunch,” Harry said. “Now tell me what’s got awake at 4am?”

Aurora sighed heavily, her heart already settling back into its normal rhythm, soothed by the familiar cadence of Harry’s voice. “Nightmare’s again.”

“Thought you said they were getting better?” he asked, concern thick in his voice and she could picture the way his brows would be lowered over his eyes.

“They were,” she sighed. “I think having Niall around all the time helped.”

“He went home yesterday?”

“Yeah,” she said.

“Saw you two went out on the town,” he chuckled. “Looked like fun.”

“It was. Felt like old times.”

“I’m glad you had fun…” his voice trailed off, struggling to keep up the light-hearted mood in the wake of his concern for her.

“I’ll be alright H. Just missing you.”

“I’ll be home before you know it,” he promised and she smiled softly, happy to hear him referring to the tower as home.

“Enough about me,” she said. “Tell me all about being a big movie star.”

He chuckled but told her all about being on set and how he was getting along with his co-stars. “Baby, I gotta get back to work,” he said after a while. “You gonna be able to sleep now?”

“Probably not,” she sighed. “Might just go downstairs and paint for a while.”

“Ok. I love you.”

“And I love you Harry.”

xXx

Aurora was in the kitchen a few days after her early morning talk with Harry. She was making a cup of tea, her back to the rest of the room where the open plan kitchen looked out across the large living room. She heard the elevator doors slide open over in the far corner of the room, paying it no mind, assuming it was one of the towers residence coming or going as they often did. She added a splash of milk to her mug and returned the carton to the fridge, almost dropping the bottle when a familiar voice yelled out. “Oi Oi!”

She spun around, her face already lighting up with a grin the moment her eyes landed on him. “Louis!” she screamed, running across the room to throw herself into his arms. “What are you doing here?” she asked as he spun her around, his bags forgotten at his feet.

“Missed you love,” he replied. “Got jealous that you spent 3 weeks straight with Irish and I had to come get my own quality time with ya.”

“Harry called, didn’t he?” she asked.

“He was just worried about you getting a bit lonely without him,” Louis explained, finally putting her back on her feet. “Don’t be mad at him.”

“I’m not mad,” Aurora argued. Louis laughed as she followed him into the living room, sitting down next to her on the sofa, folding his leg underneath him to turn and face her completely. “I’m not. I just wish everything would go back to normal. It’s not like I can be angry at him or my parents treating me like I’m broken. They’re not wrong.”

“You’re fine,” Louis scoffed. “There’s nothing wrong with needing to have people around you who care about you. H didn’t ask me to be here with you because he thinks you’ll fall apart on your own, he wanted me here because he feels guilty that he left right after the surgery.”

“I know he feels guilty not being here,” she said. “I think I worried him when I called him the night after Niall left.”

“Why’s that?” Louis asked, his hand resting on her knee.

“I have nightmares when I’m alone at night,” she explained. “Most nights that Niall was here I ended up crashing in his room because I didn’t want to be on my own.”

“Sounds like we’re gonna have plenty of sleepovers then,” Louis joked.

“I really am glad that you’re here, but I’m surprised you’re not out in California with Freddie.”

“I was,” he replied, “but my little sister needed me.”

“Thanks Lou.”

“Anytime, love.”

“He’s beautiful by the way,” Aurora added, happy to change the subject to something happier.

“Wanna see some more photos?” Louis asked, already pulling out his phone.

“Of course,” Rori laughed, leaning in to see Louis and the little baby on his screen. They spent the rest of the afternoon talking about Louis son and what the first few months of fatherhood had been like for him. Steve and Tony were both happy to find the pair in the living room when they arrived home in the early evening, having noticed the change in Rori’s mood since Niall had left the previous week. They had JARVIS order pizza and the rest of the crew made their way up to the penthouse for dinner. Aurora really was glad to have Louis there and was grateful that Harry had called him. Over the years Louis had taken on the roll of older brother in her life and she had missed him in the months since the band had gone their separate ways.

Eventually it started to get late and slowly everyone excused themselves, heading off to bed one by one. Louis didn’t even pretend that he would be staying in one of the many guest rooms, and instead headed straight for Aurora’s room and dropped his bag at the end of the bed. Rori took her pyjamas into the bathroom to change and by the time she came back out, Louis had changed and was lying on Harry’s side of the bed. She climbed in next to him, a respectful distance between them which caused Louis to laugh.

“Get over here and give us a cuddle,” he said, opening his arms out as he turned on his side to face her. “You know Harold won’t mind.”

She let out her own chuckle, remembering how many times the two of them had fallen asleep on the tour bus or on green room couches together. Harry had of course never had a problem with it, knowing that there was nothing romantic about it and that they were just comfortable around each other. She scooted over towards the centre of the bed, letting Louis wrap his arms around her and she snuggled in against his chest. She fell asleep quickly, sleeping better than she had in weeks.

xXx

As was always the case when the two of them were together, Aurora and Louis spent more time goofing around and having fun than they did actually working. Even so they still managed to pull together a couple of songs they were happy with.

“Wanna take another pass at that house on the hill song we were messing with the other day?” Louis asked.

“Yeah sure thing,” Rori smiled back. “Take it from the second verse?”

Louis nodded and began strumming away on the guitar, Aurora joining in with her lyrics a few beats later.

_Tell me what's been happening, what's been on your mind  
Lately, you've been searching for a darker place to hide  
That's alright  
But if you carry on spiralling, they'll be robbed from us  
I refuse to lose another friend to guns  
Just come home, don't let go_

_If you look into the distance, there's a house upon the hill  
Guidin' like a lighthouse  
To a place where you'll be safe to feel our grace  
'Cause we've all made mistakes  
If you've lost your way_

_I will leave the light on_

_If you look into the distance, there's a house upon the hill  
Guidin' like a lighthouse  
It's a place where you'll be safe to feel our grace  
And if you've lost your way, if you've lost your way  
I will leave the light on  
And I know you're down and out now, but I need you to be brave  
Hidin' from the truth ain't gonna make this all okay  
I see your pain  
If you don't feel our grace and you've lost your way_

_I will leave the light on_

“I’m thinking we should add a piano track,” Aurora suggested when she finished singing. She moved over to the upright piano and started putting together the right hand of the melody.

“Maybe go up here in the bridge,” Louis suggested. He nodded when Aurora tried it. “Yeah that’s better, kinda cuts through the melody nicely.”

“I like it,” Aurora agreed.

“Think you want to keep this one?” he asked when they finished.

“Nah, I still don’t really see myself doing the whole solo thing. You want it?”

“No thanks love,” Louis replied. “Don’t think it’s the direction I wanna head in.”

“Any idea what that is?” she asked.

“Not yet,” he sighed. “I know the others are chomping at it to get out there on their own, but I think I wanna ease it into.”

“I get that,” Rori said.

“Think you’re probably the only one that does get it. Everyone else is on my ass about writing and getting a solo album out as quick as possible.”

“Tell ‘em to fuck off, Lou.”

Louis let out a loud peel of laughter in response, rolling backwards where he was sitting on the floor. “Jesus I really did miss hanging out with you,” he finally said when he pulled himself together.

xXx

They were up on the roof one night, the hot summer air still hanging over the city even though the sun had set hours ago and they both lay on their backs staring up at the sky. Aurora’s head was cushioned on Louis chest, and she toed off her shoes, the hem of her dress covering her thighs.

“Hey Rors?” Louis asked, breaking the stillness of the evening. The sound of traffic below them floated up but given how high they were above the streets it was more of a soft background noise than it would have been down below.

“Yeah?” she replied, turning her head to the side, only able to see the underside of his chin as he continued looking up at the hint of stars above them.

“I never really asked you about the shooting because I didn’t want to upset you, but I was wondering if you ever wanted to talk about it?”

“For a while I kept trying to pretend it never happened,” she said, turning back to look at the darkness spread out above them. “I know that probably sounds ridiculous given that my hand was held together by metal plates and my shoulder was in pieces, but I couldn’t think about it at first. Then I started talking to Sam and it helped, so I started talking to Harry. I’m not ready to talk to the press or anything, but I think it helps to talk with the people around me.”

“What was it like?” Louis asked.

“Terrifying.” His hand lifted to comb through her hair while she spoke. “I was confused at first, but then once we all realised what was happening, we got under the tables and I had JARVIS send out an S.O.S.” She paused for a moment, thinking back to that day in the library. “I remember the bullets feeling hot, like a hot iron poker. I think I went into shock pretty quick and my head was spinning. I remember Pops lifting me up. His face is what I see in my nightmares most nights. The fear in his eyes was what made me realise I was dying. By the time I got to the hospital I’d lost consciousness, but they said I lost so much blood that it was close. And then I woke up and I couldn’t really believe I was alive, but my dads were there and so was Harry.”

“I hate that that happened to you,” Louis whispered. “When we found out what happened and they were trying to get Harry on a plane and cancel the show, we saw that photo of you in Steve’s arms and I kept thinking; what are we gonna do if you die?”

“I’m sorry, Lou. I forget that it wasn’t just me that went through hell that day.”

“Don’t ever apologise,” he told her. “I’m just glad you’re still here.”

“Me too.”

They both let the conversation drop, the silence wrapping back around them as they lay out in the summer night. Over the past few months, Aurora had found herself resenting how much Harry, Steve and Tony were hovering over her. She’d hated the way they watched her constantly as if afraid that the moment they turned away she would fall apart. She’d thought they saw her as weak and resented their pity. It was only now, lying in the darkness with Louis that she realised that everything they’d done was just their way of loving her and trying to protect her. So much focus was on her injuries, both physical and mental, that she often forgot how traumatising the shooting had been on all of them. How could she possibly blame them for being overprotective of her when they had so very nearly lost her. It wasn’t that she wasn’t able to look after herself, it was more that they wanted to help her in any way they could. She felt stupid for not realising any of this sooner considering how painfully obvious it now seemed.

“I can hear you thinking,” Louis muttered. “Care to share with the class?”

“Just thinking about how much you all love me,” Rori replied. “You’d really do anything to make sure I’m ok.”

“You best believe it,” he said, his hand resting on her shoulder, squeezing gently. “So, stop complaining and just let us help you.”

“I love you Lou,” she murmured, sitting up to look at him in the soft light. “Growing up I always wanted a brother and I’m so grateful I got the best one.”

“Love you too Rors.” He also sat up, pulling her into a tight hug. “I think we all blame ourselves for not being able to protect you. I know it’s not rational because how could anyone of us have stopped what happened, but seeing you hurting kills us. Please don’t feel like you need to put on a brave face around any of us, because we would walk through fire for you.”

Aurora didn’t say anything, still clinging to Louis and he let the silence once again fall around them, glad that he’d finally said everything that had been gnawing away at him for months and happy that she finally understood why her family was hovering over her.


	9. Harry comes home: July 2016

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fair warning, I know absolutely nothing about prosthetics and I've made all of this up, especially all the new tech that Tony and Peter have designed. 
> 
> The song Louis and Rori write in this chapter is Turn Down the Lights by Cavalcade :)
> 
> As always, please check out my tumblr for fake instagram posts and spotify playlists  
> https://abundanceofsoph.tumblr.com/post/626851540633796608/skyfire-2-the-indefinite-hiatus
> 
> Don’t forget to leave a comment :)

A week before Harry was expected home, Louis was still staying with them and he accompanied Aurora as she stepped into her fathers’ workshop.

“JARVIS said you needed me,” she said when they stepped through the glass door.

“We’re ready for testing,” Peter announced excitedly, gesturing to the prototype hand he had been helping Tony to build for the last few months.

“I haven’t met with a prosthetist yet,” Aurora pointed out. “Not sure I’m meant to be trying anything on yet.”

“No need,” Tony explained. “We just want to test out the neural connection to see if you can operate it.”

Aurora nodded in understanding, Peter having excitedly explained some of the science to her weeks ago. She hadn’t really understood most of what he’d said but she’d been able to grasp the basics. She swept her hair out of the way, allowing Tony to slip an electronic device around her left ear that looked a little like a hearing aid without the part that went in the ear itself.

“What is that thing?” Louis asked, watching on with interest.

“Normally the way the body works is that the brain sends a message down the spine to tell certain muscles to move. This device will pick up on that neural message and convert it into an electronic signal,” Tony explained, oversimplifying a process that had taken him and Peter months to design. “If we’ve got this right, that signal will be picked up by the prosthetic and move the hand.”

“So, you’re saying that Rori will be able to use the prosthetic hand just like it was connected to her and part of her body?” Louis asked, his voice laced with awe in the face of something he would have thought only possible in science fiction.

“That’s the idea,” Tony replied. “We want to avoid fusing the prosthetic to the skeleton like Bucky’s is. This way will be a lot less invasive and less painful.”

“Two things I am all for,” Aurora joked, attempting to shake off her own nerves.

“Ready?” Tony asked.

“Yep,” she said. “What do I do?”

Tony tapped away at his tablet for a brief moment, monitoring the connection between the device on her ear and the prototype hand. “Ok,” he finally said. “The transmitter is sitting correctly and it’s picking up everything. Rori, I want you to close your eyes and try to clench your left hand into a fist.”

Aurora followed her father’s instructions and the three men held their breath; the prosthetic on the table in front of her didn’t move. “Did it work?”

“Not yet,” Tony said. “It might be easier if you try to do this with both hands, just to give you something physical to focus on. Try to make a fist with both hands.”

They all watched as the fingers on her right hand curled up to form a fist, again the prosthetic remained unmoving. They continued on for another 20 minutes, trying different things to no avail.

“I don’t get it,” Peter huffed. “The device is picking up all the correct signals, but nothing’s working.”

“It’s not the device,” Tony replied. “Aurora’s spent the last 10 months not moving her left hand. Before the amputation her brain spent 6 months teaching itself not to move it because it used to cause pain. We need to train her brain to rebuild those pathways.”

Louis had been watching on in silence, not wanting to interrupt. Without a word he stood up and left the workshop. Everyone watched him go, confused by his abruptness. “I guess he’s not very patient,” Peter mumbled. “Don’t worry Aurora, we’ll work this out.”

She smiled back at him. “I know you will Pete.”

Louis returned a few minutes later, carrying the keyboard from the recording studio down the hall. “What about trying this?” he asked, placing it in front of Aurora. “You’ve been playing for over a decade. If your brain needs to remember how to use both hands, it knows how to play. You could do this with your eyes closed.”

“Louis, you’re a genius!” Tony exclaimed, smiling broadly.

“I’ve been trying to tell her that for years,” Louis joked, elbowing Aurora in the side. She laughed loudly, the tension leaving her body.

“Alright kiddo,” Tony said, turning back to his daughter. “Wanna play us something?”

She placed her right hand over the keys, the stump of her left arm resting on the table as if the ghost of her hand was also extended towards the keyboard. She took a deep shaking breath and began to play. At first it was disorientating; in her head she was playing both the left and right hand of the piece but only half of the notes were actually being played. She pushed through the discomfort, focusing on visualising her left hand dancing across the keys. She knew she’d done it when Peter let out an ecstatic whoop. She looked away from the keyboard to watch in fascination as the fingers of the prototype twitched and bent as if playing. A wide grin split across her face and tears spilt down her cheeks, her hand faltering, the song stuttering as she watched the prosthetic move.

“Holy shit,” she murmured. “You did it. Dad, you did it!”

She launched herself from her seat and into Tony arms, hugging him tightly as she cried. “I knew you would but oh my god. I’m really going to be able to play again. I’m going to get my life back. Thank you.”

xXx

By the time Harry returned to New York the following week, Aurora, Peter and Tony had conducted many more tests and work had begun on creating a wearable version of the prototype so that it would be ready when Aurora met with her prosthetists in a few weeks’ time. As a result, she had been in an excellent mood, one that was contagious, bringing smiles to the faces of all the residents in the tower. The mood was instantly apparent to Harry when he finally arrived at the tower, thanking Happy for the lift before taking the elevator up to the penthouse. Since Aurora had always enjoyed surprising Harry by arriving unexpectedly or earlier than planned, he had told her he was arriving the following day, and so he dropped his bags in the living room before going in search of her. Steve was in the kitchen when Harry arrived, they hugged briefly, and Steve welcomed him back before directing Harry downstairs to where he found Rori in the recording studio with Louis. He smiled as he watched them together. Louis was sat on the sofa playing his guitar as Aurora danced around the studio singing.

_Turn the lights down  
We're gonna shut it out  
Close your eyes now  
We won't know tomorrow  
Only one night  
No one's gonna see you here  
No one's gonna hear you clear_

Harry continued to watch as Louis added his own voice to Aurora’s, the sound of a piano playing out of the speakers in the ceiling, clearly something they’d recorded earlier.

_I saw you walking through the street  
Street lights bright on your misery  
Stumble down falling from your feet  
No one understands you _

Louis stopped playing when he spotted Harry watching them, a grin lighting up his face and drawing Aurora’s attention. The next line of the song died in her throat when she saw him, rushing across the room to jump into his arms. The piano track continued to play in the background as he lifted her into the air, spinning them around as he kissed her.

“I missed you so much,” she murmured against his lips. “I’m so glad you’re home.”

“Missed you too my love,” he replied, chuckling as she planted kisses across his cheeks, her legs wrapping around his waist so that he couldn’t set her back down on her own feet.

Over dinner that night Harry was caught up on much that he had missed while he was away and shared his own tales from set. Once the meal was over and they all migrated over to the sofas, Aurora curled up in Harry’s lap, her head resting against his shoulder as conversation swirled around them. One of his hands absently rubbed along her spine, a pint clasped in the other as he chatted away with Louis, happily looking at all his photos of baby Freddie.

xXx

In the initial weeks following the amputation back in April, Aurora’s arm had been heavily bandaged and, in a bid to regain her independence, she had chosen to go alone when she returned to her doctor for her check-up appointments. Because of this, Harry had left for France to film Dunkirk before she was ready to have the limb exposed. So, it wasn’t until he was back in New York, 3 Months after the surgery that Aurora finally had to prepare herself to show him. Thus far she had avoided anyone other than her doctors seeing the stump without its compression stocking and despite growing comfortable with the other scars she had collected, she still felt vulnerable in an entirely new way showing it. Despite feeling exposed, she knew that if she was ever going to learn to be comfortable with her new body, Harry was the first person she needed to show it to. Rationally she knew that it wasn't like he would recoil in horror or anything, but she still felt nervous as she sat down facing him on her bed the day after he came home. 

“H?” she began hesitantly. 

“Yeah love?” He replied, reaching out to run his hand along her thigh. 

“I want to show you my arm,” she explained, her voice shaking with her nerves. “No one’s seen it yet.”

“You don’t have to if you're not ready,” Harry said, shuffling closer on the duvet. “I don’t want to push you.”

“You're not,” Rori promised. “I want you to see it. It’s probably silly of me to be nervous again. I feel like I’ve had this exact conversation with you so many times. It’s just a big step, you know?”

“I do know,” he said, “and there’s nothing wrong with being nervous. This is different to you showing me your scars, but just like I said back then; this doesn’t change how I see you.”

“I love you so much Harry. I don’t think you realise how rare you are.”

Harry blushed always shy to receive compliments and he leaned forward to kiss her instead of replying. When they pulled apart from the kiss, Aurora’s hand fell to where the compression stocking covered what was left of her forearm and she slowly peeled the edge back.

Slowly Harry’s hands fell over her fingers. “May I?” he asked softly. She nodded, swallowing against her nerves as his long fingers removed the last of the stocking from her stump, revealing the angry red incision line at the end. “See?” he asked. “Nothing to be nervous about.”

Her eyes shot up to meet his, and she found only love and acceptance looking back at her. “It really doesn’t bother you.” She hadn’t meant it as a question, simply in awe of how lucky she was to have found such an incredible man to spend her life with.

“Of course, it doesn’t,” Harry answered any way. “Nothing could change the way I feel about you. I hope you understand that someday.”

They kissed then and Aurora pushed Harry backwards until he was lying flat across the bed. She moved with him until she was lying atop him, their lips never leaving each other’s.

xXx

Louis stayed for a week after Harry arrived home, both men glad to have some time with one another, but eventually he flew home. Harry spent a few days with Aurora, enjoying some much needed time together, before he returned to the studio to get back to work. After months away from music he was excited to be back in the studio and the team he had assembled earlier in the year were equally excited to return. Aurora spent more time in the studio than she had before Louis and Niall’s visits, jumping in wholeheartedly with the writing process, which Harry loved. She would occasionally slip out of the studio to either go paint or to assist Peter and her father in further testing for the prosthetic.

xXx

At the end of July, Aurora’s prosthetist came to the tower for her first appointment. Given the fact that Tony was building a custom prosthetic it had occurred to them early on in the process that the fitting process would need to be a collaborative effort that would go smoother with home visits. Aurora was already in the workshop with Tony and Harry when the prosthetist was accompanied into the room by Happy. He introduced himself as Ben Sherman and shook everyone’s hands.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you all,” he said. “I’ve been looking over your medical files Aurora, and I’ve also read over your designs Mr Stark and I’m very excited to be involved in such a revolutionary project. If it’s alright with you I would like to start with looking at your residual limb. May I?”

Aurora nodded, holding her left arm out towards Ben. She was only wearing a tank top, allowing him to take full stock of the limb. She winced a little when he pressed against the incision line and he apologized. He then had Tony show them the latest prototype and they demonstrated how Aurora was able to operate it, something she had been getting much better at over the past weeks.

Once he was satisfied, he showed Tony some examples of sockets and the pair discussed the best methods and materials for constructing one to suit Auroras needs. Once that was completed, he set about taking a mould of her stump for Tony to use to form the socket.

“OK,” he said when he was finished and had repacked his bag. “I think we’ll be ready to start trying things on in about 2 weeks, so if you think you’ll have the next prototype ready by then we can book in a time for me to come and help you try it on and get used to wearing it.

“Thank you, Ben,” Aurora replied with a gentle smile. “I really appreciate you making a house call.”

“Well this is a special circumstance case,” he said. “I’m happy to help.”

Harry walked him out to the elevator and when he returned Aurora was staring at the prosthesis with excitement. “I can’t believe I’m going to finally get to try it on soon,” she said. “I can’t wait.”


	10. The End of Summer: August 2016

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Check out my tumblr for fake instagram posts and spotify playlists   
> https://abundanceofsoph.tumblr.com/post/626851540633796608/skyfire-2-the-indefinite-hiatus

Aurora was sitting in the studio with Harry and his band when her phone vibrated in her pocket. She pulled it out, scrolling through the email before placing it face down on the coffee table in front of her. Harry watched out of the corner of his eye as she kept glancing back at her phone every few minutes, completely distracted from the conversations swirling around her. After about 20 minutes he watched as she picked her phone up again, her brow furrowed as she read something, and she stood up, excusing herself from the room. He waited half an hour before he started to worry and also excused himself from the room. JARVIS informed him she was still on the floor, and he found her sitting in her art studio, a sketchbook open on her lap, her head bowed over it as she worked away.

“Everything ok, love?” Harry asked, sitting down beside her.

Her head snapped up, not having heard him come in. “Yeah,” she smiled. “Sorry just got an idea and had to get it down.”

“What is it?”

“Columbia just sent out an email and announced they want a student to paint a mural for the one year anniversary,” she explained. “Just kind of couldn’t get it out of my head.”

Harry could see the excitement on her face, her eyes alight with passion and creativity. He smiled softly, kissing her temple before he stood up. “I’ll leave you too it then,” he said before heading back to the recording studio.

Aurora continued working on her concept sketches for the next few days before sending them off to the student committee organising the mural.

xXx

While she waited to hear if her design would be selected, she received an unexpected call from the 3 members of Rascal Flatts. She had spoken to them a couple of times in the last year; first apologising for not being able to perform with them in the wake of the shooting and then again when they let her know they were holding off on releasing their next album, deciding that they wanted to tour the last album a bit more first.

“Hi Joe!” she said when she answered the call.

“Hey Aurora,” Joe replied. “You’ve got all three of us on speaker. How have you been honey?”

“Hi everyone,” she chuckled. “I’m really good thanks.”

“Great to hear. So, the reason we’re calling is to let you know that we’re finally releasing the album in October.”

“Ahh, that’s so exciting!”

“It is, yeah. We’re really looking forward to it and we were wondering how you’d feel about the CMAs this year. I know things didn’t pan out right for last year, but we’d really love to get on stage with you, but only if you feel ready.”

“Oh wow,” Rori gasped. “That sounds incredible guys, I’m honoured. I’ve been getting back in the studio over the summer and I actually do feel like I’m ready to jump back in. I’m getting my first prosthesis fitted next week so I should be good to go by November.”

“Fantastic!” Gary said. “We’ll send through all the details when we get closer to the day but you’ll probably have to come out a few days before so we can rehearse.”

“Can do,” she promised. “I’ll keep that whole week clear, just in case.”

“Great, we’ll see you then.”

xXx

Ever since she’d submitted her concept sketches for the Columbia mural, Aurora hadn’t been able to get the idea out of her head, so while she waited for the decision to be made she had a large canvas delivered to the tower and once it arrived she set to work. In her mind she told herself that if she was selected to paint the mural then the canvas would just be a more detailed concept work, but if she wasn’t selected at least her idea would still exist in this smaller format. She’d already blocked in the background and sketched out the figures the previous day, so she was getting started on the school’s mascot at the centre of the piece which was a lion kneeling to place a wreath of roses on the ground in front of it.

“Sorry to interrupt,” Harry said as he stepped into the room, drawing her attention away from the canvas. “Lou’s on the phone and he wants to talk bachelor and bachelorette parties.”

“Hi Lou!” Rori greeted as Harry held out his phone between the two of them.

“Hey Rors,” Louis replied, his voice playing through the speakers. “So, I was just explaining to H that Gemma and I have been putting our heads together and we’ve come up with an idea. I figured neither of you were going to be interested in the traditional alcohol fuelled partying with strippers and given the mixed gender parties, Gem and I thought we could maybe to a combined thing, rent out and place and all go away for the long weekend as a group.”

“I love that idea,” Aurora replied. “What did you guys have in mind?”

“There’s a great 3 bedroom cottage out in the Cotswolds,” Louis said, “and there’s a day spa in the nearest town for you girls.”

“We’re in,” Harry smiled. “You guys thought about when?”

“Well Cheryl’s due early March so Liam’s asked for us to do it before February and between Niall and Ella January is out too. It’s coming up quick but early November works for everyone if it works for you.”

“I’m going to the CMAs on the 3rd, so maybe the 2nd weekend in November?” Aurora offered, looking at Harry questioningly. He nodded that that weekend would work for him and Louis agreed that the cottage they’d found was available.

“Alright, leave it with me and Gem and we’ll take care of everything.”

“Thanks Lou,” Rori replied. “You’re the best Man of Honour.”

“I take my position very seriously,” he laughed. “Anyway, enjoy the rest of your day guys. I’ll talk to you later.”

xXx

“Aurora, Mr Styles is requesting you join him the studio when you are available,” JARVIS announced one afternoon in late August. She packed up her paints, cleaned her brushes and then headed down the hall towards the recording studio, surprised to find the band gone for the day and Harry waiting inside alone.

“Hey babe,” she greeted. “JARVIS said you needed me?”

“Yeah,” Harry replied. He smiled softly but Rori thought that he was acting a little odd. “I wrote a song,” he said hesitantly.

“I’m shocked,” Rori laughed, her giggles dying on her lips once Harry’s nervous expression fully registered in her head. “What’s it about?”

“You,” he replied. “No one’s heard it yet and it needs polishing but if you don’t like it, no one ever hears it.”

“You’re making me nervous H,” Rori said. “You’ve never been scared to show me something before” They stared at each other for a few minutes too long. “Just play it Harry.”

He mumbled his agreement, cueing up the recording on his phone and pressing play. She reached out and took his hand as it played. 

_Choose your words 'cause there's no antidote_

_For this curse_

_Oh, what's it waiting for?_

_Must this hurt you just before you go?_

_Oh, tell me something I don't already know_

_Oh, tell me something I don't already know_

_Brooklyn saw me, empty at the news_

_There's no water inside this swimming pool_

_Almost over, had enough from you_

_And I've been praying, I never did before_

_Understand I'm talking to the walls_

_I've been praying ever since New York_

_Oh, tell me something I don't already know_

  
“Harry,” Rori whispered as the recording petered out, her cheeks damp from the silent tears rolling down her face. Harry finally lifted his head, looking at his fiancé for the first time since pressing play. His eyes widened when he saw the tears in her eyes, reaching out to wipe them away with the pads of his thumbs. 

“I’m so sorry baby,” he murmured, “I’m so sorry I shouldn’t have written about that. Forget it. I’m gonna scrap it.”

“Don’t you dare,” she told him. “It’s beautiful.”

“You really like it?” he asked.

“I love it Harry. It just hurts to remember what I put you through last year.”

“You didn’t do anything love,” Harry promised. “Just never wanna lose you.”

“I’m not going anywhere,” she replied softly, leaning forward to kiss him. He quickly deepened the kiss and within a few minutes she had her right hand in his hair as she sat in his lap, her thighs straddling his hips. “I love you so much,” she murmured against his lips.

xXx

In the last days of August, Ben returned to the tower and Aurora finally slipped her new prosthesis onto what remained of her left forearm. After almost an entire year of feeling broken, or incomplete, the feeling of slipping on the prosthetic and watching as the fingers clenched and unfurled was euphoric. Harry was by her side of course, but so were Steve, Tony and Peter, her odd little family she never would have seen coming when she was growing up. They all watched on as silent tears streaked down her face, a huge grin ensuring none of them worried as she cried. She turned her hand over and back again, marvelling at the way the metal moved, much like Bucky’s arm did, almost as if there were real muscles below the surface, shifting so naturally. She hugged Peter first, surprising the teenager.

“Thank you, Pete,” she whispered. “I know how hard you worked on this.”

“You really don’t have to thank me,” Peter replied. “I just wanted to help; you know? Your dad did all the work really.”

“Hush,” she joked. “Just take the damn compliment.”

Peter laughed in response, giving her one last squeeze before letting her go so that she could hug her parents.

Ben and Tony both bent over the hand, the former assessing the fit and Aurora’s comfort, while the later focused on the data readouts on his tablet, watching as she continued to move the prosthetic and test it’s capabilities now that it was on her arm instead of laying on the table.

As Ben was finishing up and saying his goodbyes to everyone, a notification popped up on Aurora’s phone. Harry passed it to her, and she took great joy in reaching for it with her left hand. His matching smile told her that he knew exactly what she was thinking. Her smile dropped when she turned her gaze to the screen, seeing an email from the Student Union. She felt her nervousness as she opened the email and started reading.

**Hello Aurora,**

**First of all, let me begin by thanking you for submitting your concept sketches for the proposed memorial mural for the quad. We were all very excited to see your submission and are excited to have you return to participating in the Columbia community. We would like to congratulate you as the winning submission and invite you to campus to complete the mural. We here at CUSU loved the way you incorporated our guidelines of including Columbia’s mascot while also paying tribute to the first responders and using the candles to honour everyone we lost was a beautiful element of the design. We would like to have the piece completed by the anniversary on September 29 th so please feel free to start as soon as you would like in order to achieve this deadline. Please don’t hesitate to contact me if you have any further questions. **

**Kind Regards,**

**Caitlyn Walsh**

**Columbia University Student Union President.**

“Oh my god! Harry, I got it. I got accepted to paint the memorial mural.”

“Knew you could do it baby!” He pulled her into a hug, holding her tightly and kissing her cheek.

“Congratulations bug,” Steve added, patting her shoulder. “No one better suited for the job.”

“I’m pretty sure they picked me for the publicity,” Aurora admitted when Harry finally let her go. “I don’t really care though. If my name gets more people talking about gun reform, then I’ll exploit that as much as I can. I really want to get more involved in that side of things and just make sure what happened to us doesn’t happen to anyone else.”


	11. The Mural & The Anniversary: September 2016

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Check out my tumblr for fake instagram posts and spotify playlists  
> https://abundanceofsoph.tumblr.com/post/626851540633796608/skyfire-2-the-indefinite-hiatus
> 
> Aurora's memorial song is Andie Case's See You Again/The Scientist/Stay With Me   
> https://open.spotify.com/track/4V9yE6UrgBYa7KfSaFSW87?si=0kYLAJZYSsq-l5G5rH0Kbw

Aurora and Steve were working in their shared art studio a few days later. Aurora was wearing her prosthetic hand as she painted at her easel, thankful to finally be able to hold her palette again instead of piling paint pots on a side table. Ben had instructed her to only wear it for an hour or two each day to avoid injuring herself or creating pressure sores on her stump. She’d spent her hour the previous day at the piano, slowly retraining herself to play again and today she had allotted the time to painting. Both she and Steve had missed the hours they would spend together in the studio, soft music filling the comfortable silence between the two of them. Aurora was chewing at the inside of her cheek, her mind a million miles away as she focused in on the finer details of her mural concept.

“Hey pops?” she finally asked, drawing Steve’s attention away from his own canvas. “Do you have any plans this week?”

“No, why bug?”

“I’m going to be painting that mural at Columbia,” she explained, “and I was… I was wondering if you could come with me. But if your busy, it’s fine.”

Steve picked up on her anxiety almost immediately. There was a fine tremor in her right hand, her paint brush wavering in the air, and her eyes couldn’t seem to land on anything for longer than a split second. He knew if he placed a hand on her chest right now, her heart would be racing.

“I’d love too,” he smiled softly. “Always love watching you work.”

She returned his smile, the anxiety washing out of her in a wave, reassured that she wouldn’t be alone when she returned to the campus for the first time in almost a year.

xXx

As she walked onto campus Aurora was glad that she’d swallowed her pride and asked Steve to come with her. The terror she felt being back there was palpable and she felt herself shaking as she looked at the sprawling buildings in front of her. Happy had dropped them at the closest entrance to the quad, helping Steve pull her equipment from the trunk of the car. She had her backpack slung over her shoulders, full of brushes, paint tins and drop cloths, her prosthetic was mostly hidden under the sleeve of her oversized sweatshirt, red letters spelling out Columbia across her chest. Steve walked over to her side, dropping the ladder and bag of equipment beside her as Happy climbed back into the car and drove away.

“You ready to do this?” he asked, reaching out to squeeze her hand. She let out a shaking breath, continuing to stare out across the perfectly tailored lawn and she knew that without his hand in hers she wouldn’t have had the strength to put one foot in front of the other. She squeezed his hand in reply and it was only when she tore her gaze away from the campus to look at him that she saw her own nervousness echoed in his blue eyes, so like hers. In that moment she knew that he was reliving that day right along with her.

“I’m ready,” she replied. “You?”

“Let’s do this,” he said, smiling softly as he dropped her hand to pick up her supplies again.

Without another word they both strode off up the path in front of them. They quad was empty when they arrived and started setting up. After spreading out the drop sheet they quickly got to work prepping the wall and laying down a base coat of sunshine yellow. The happy colour helped pull them both out of their memories and Aurora set up a little speaker to play some of their favourite tunes. By the end of the afternoon they had finished the base yellow and Aurora had started to rough in the outlines of the figures in the foreground. Once the sun started to set, they cleaned off their brushes and rollers, leaving all the equipment in a storage room in a nearby building that had been cleaned out for her by the Student Union.

Steve wrapped his arm around her shoulder as they walked back through the campus towards where Happy was waiting to pick them up. “Thank you for coming with me Pops,” she said.

“Glad to be here,” he replied. “Feels good to be making better memories of this place.”

“Yeah it does,” she agreed. “I think that’s why I wanted to be the one to paint the mural when it was announced. I used to feel like I belonged here, and I want to take that back.”

“You will.”

xXx

She spent the next two weeks working on the painting, starting with the school mascot kneeling in the centre of the scene. On either side of the anthropomorphic lion, with a hand on each shoulder, were Iron Man and Captain America and behind them were the other first responders; police, paramedics, doctors and nurses, all standing shoulder to shoulder in solidarity, their heads dropped in mourning. The crowd behind the lion steadily lost colour as they moved towards the back of the scene until the furthest figures were only black silhouettes, a faceless mass of support. Across the bottom of the painting, at their feet, was the wreath of roses being placed down by the lion and then, lining the ground in front of them were 43 white pillar candles, one for each victim, their names painted in gold and flames glowing softly. She finished the piece with a frame bordering the image in soft metallic gold paint, the same paint she used for the lettering. When everything was done, she packed all her equipment off to the side and stepped back to take in the finished work. She felt a few tears slide down her cheeks as she read each name on the candles once again, every name burned into her brain, unable to be forgotten even if she wanted to.

She sent a quick email to the Student Union to let them know she was finished and then called Happy to come pick her up from the usual spot. She left all of her equipment in the storage room again, deciding that she was too tired to deal with taking it all home today. Maybe Pops would be free tomorrow to help her ferry it back. She shouldn’t have been surprised when Harry was the one waiting for her on the curb, but she was. A grin lit up both of their faces and he kissed her softly once she reached them.

“Do I not get to see the masterpiece?” he asked as she went to climb into the car.

“I’ll show you tomorrow when I come back with my camera and lights,” she replied. “I just wanna go home now.”

Harry silently agreed, holding open her door for her and then jogging around to climb into the driver’s seat. Aurora had been planning for what she wanted to do when she finished the mural for weeks and was excited to finally be able to enact her plan.

She’d been working on a video idea, and having gotten permission from the Student Union, she and Harry return to the quad the following evening, late enough that the sun has set, and the campus was nearly deserted. Harry helped her set up her lighting rigs, ensuring that the mural was softly lit under a warm glow. While Aurora turned her attention to setting up her video camera on a tripod, lining up the shot perfectly, Harry set up the dozens of battery powered candles they’d brought with them. Finally, everything was ready, and Harry moves behind the camera, hitting record when Aurora nodded from where she’d taken a seat in front of the painting, surrounded by the flickering glow of the candles. The scene was beautiful with the candles providing enough light to illuminate Aurora’s face while the mural was backlit, a faint breeze blowing through the quad to lightly lift Aurora’s long, dark curls. She’d taken her prosthetic off, the stump of her left hand visible below the hem of her black shirt.

Harry pressed play on his phone, music filling the night air as the video camera recorded the scene in front of him. For the past week, Aurora had spent her days on campus painting, and then once the sun set and she returned home, she had spent the evenings in the studio, recording the song now playing from Harry’s phone. It was a medley that Aurora composed of _The Scientist_ , _See You Again_ and _Stay With Me_ , a soft piano track backing her vocals. After an hour, and multiple takes, Aurora was happy with what they had and ready to head home to start editing it all together in time for the anniversary at the end of the week. They quickly packed up the camera, lights and candles before leaving.

“I’m really proud of you,” Harry told her as they headed for the car. “It’s going to be a beautiful tribute.”

“Thanks,” she replied, holding out her hand for his and lacing their fingers together, his thumb brushing softly across the back of her hand.

xXx

**◊Mark: The news is reporting on you painting the mural at Columbia. I’m getting bombarded with interview requests.**

**◊Aurora: and you think I should do one.**

**◊Mark: With the CMAs around the corner I think this would be a good way to relaunch your brand.**

**◊Aurora: Relaunch my brand? I’m rolling my eyes so hard at you right now.**

**◊Mark: Yeah, yeah, I know you hate all of this. Doesn’t make it any less true. Everyone has been itching to hear your side of things for the last year.**

**◊Aurora: Ok. I don’t like it, but I trust you. Who’s the best option?**

**◊Mark: How do you feel about Stephen Colbert? We were in talks to get you on there last year before everything happened and they’re planning a memorial episode with some of the other survivors.**

**◊Aurora: He’s been great to Dad and Pops. Can you make it happen?**

**◊Mark: Leave it with me and I’ll set it all up.**

**◊Aurora: I’ve been tossing up the idea of releasing a song and having all the profits go to the ColumbiaStrong fund.**

**◊Mark: They have musical acts on the Late Show, you feel up to combing the two?**

**◊Aurora: Perfect.**

xXx

Harry and Aurora were curled up on the sofa the afternoon before her appearance on the Late Show, her head rested on his shoulder and his fingers brushed through her hair.

“Hey babe?” Harry asked. Aurora hummed in response, prompting him to continue. “I know we’ve got a lot on our plate over the next few months with the CMAs and then the wedding and the album in the new year, but there’s something I’ve been thinking about… I think I want to sell Erskine after the wedding.”

“What?” Aurora gasped, sitting up suddenly to look at him. “You love that house and you’ve put so much work into it.”

“I know,” Harry agreed, “and I do, but it’s my house and I want to buy somewhere with you. I want to have our house. I know that when we’re here in the states you want to stay in the tower so I thought we should buy a place in London together. Wherever you want. Maybe we could buy something in Wimbledon.”

“Oh, Harry,” she sighed, her voice laced with all the affection she had for the man sitting in front of her. “You’re such a romantic. I would love to buy a place with you. I think we should keep Erskine though. We both have a lot of good memories there. Maybe we could rent it out.”

“We could do that,” Harry grinned. “If we find something new before the wedding it would be handy to let all the family stay at the house after the reception since they’re already there, then we can just sneak out and won’t have to wait until everyone leaves.”

“I like the way you think Styles.”

xXx

The next day Aurora found herself in a green room at the Ed Sullivan theatre with her manager, Mark. “You ready?” he asked her.

“I hope so, because it’s a bit late now to change my mind.”

“You’ll be great,” Mark promised. “He’ll do the monologue and then introduce you. You’ll talk about your recovery and the charity work you’ve been doing with Steve and Tony, then you’ll come back out here for a breather while he talks to the other survivors. You sing _Reaper_ and then join them all back on the couch for the second half of the interview with all of you.”

“Yeah, I know. I can do this,” she muttered.


	12. The Late Show with Steve Colbert: September 28th, 2016

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Check out my tumblr for fake instagram posts and spotify playlists  
> https://abundanceofsoph.tumblr.com/post/626851540633796608/skyfire-2-the-indefinite-hiatus
> 
> The song in this chapter is Reaper, covered by Andie Case

Aurora was anxiously pacing backstage as she waited for her time to walk out onto the set. She listened as Stephen Colbert began his opening monologue and she swallowed thickly as he explained how the following day marked the first anniversary of the shooting and how this episode was in honour of the 43 lives they had lost that day. Mark squeezed her shoulder in support as she was announced and she let out a shaky breath, trying to push her anxiety aside as the curtain was pulled back for her. Her hand trembled as she walked out into the bright studio lights, the crowd applauding as she approached were Stephen Colbert stood in front of his desk. She hugged him before taking a seat on the sofa next to the desk; the audience continued to clap and cheer for a few extra moments before Stephen shushed them and she felt the weight of everyone’s gaze fall on her. She had a smile plastered on her face and if her family were there, they would recognise how fake it was, but to the audience in front of her she looked calm and collected, some would even say excited to be there.

“Aurora, welcome,” Stephen said once the audience fell silent. “Thank you for joining us tonight.”

“Thank you for having me,” Aurora replied. “I know we’ve been trying to make this happen since your first show last year.”

“We have and of course everyone watching knows that it’s been an incredibly challenging year for you, so we are very grateful to have you here. What has this last 12 months been like?”

“Like you said it’s been really challenging. When I woke up in the hospital they told me I’d been shot about a dozen times, once in the abdomen, 4 times in my shoulder and then another 7 or possibly more in my left hand, so for the first few months I was just focusing on all the surgeries and trying to heal.”

“And about a month after the shooting you were trending online after you joined your fiancé Harry Styles on stage for One Directions last concert show. What brought that about?”

“I think in the wake of tragedies like the Columbia shooting we all focus on the victims and their recovery but not a lot of thought goes to the victim’s friends and families if they survive. For those that die, their families receive overwhelming support, but if your loved one survives, there’s not a lot of emotional support and that’s something I never realised until I found myself in that situation. While I was recovering physically and receiving the help I needed to deal with the PTSD and the emotional trauma, my family was struggling and that became pretty clear to me when I watched fan videos from the One Direction tour and I saw the way that Harry and the other lads were hurting. I can’t begin to imagine the trauma of hearing someone you love has been involved in a mass shooting and that they might not make it. That leaves such devastating wounds that I knew I had to go to London and help them through that pain. Getting on stage was just this last minute idea we cooked up to celebrate that I was still there and to thank the fans for all their support.”

“It was a beautiful moment to watch,” Stephen replied, “but you’ve been pretty quiet online since then.”

“I have yeah. I stayed on Instagram and I’ve kept posting there but I deleted all my other social media accounts after the shooting.”

“Why was that?”

“Emotions were running high and unfortunately the anonymity of social media really encourages the worst in people. There was quite a lot of awful things being said about myself and my family in those first few weeks and mentally I wasn’t in a good place so I just deleted everything and my manager does a great job of keeping my Instagram comment section clear of the worst of things.”

“Why stay on Instagram at all? Why not delete it as well?”

“Despite the fame and attention, I’m like most 21 year olds. I want to see what my friends are doing and share the aspects of my life that I’m comfortable sharing and I love my fans. They’re really wonderful people and I like being able to invite them into my world in small ways, I’m just learning how to do that in a way that’s right for my mental health.”

“You said you were receiving a lot of hate after the shooting, what kinds of things were being said?”

“While most people were incredibly supportive, there were also a lot of voices pointing out the special treatment I received because I’m a Stark. I saw the best surgeons and I never had to worry about hospital bills. I also survived because my parents responded to the emergency as quickly as they did, and I was rushed to the nearest hospital. A lot of people died because nobody got to them as fast as they got to me.”

“Did you agree with what they were saying?”

“Of course, and I still do. Growing up poor and then being thrust into my dad’s world has always caused me to have a tremendous amount of guilt. I have so much privilege and even though I knew how lucky I was I didn’t use that privilege to help people. It was really confronting to get called out for that on such a massive scale, especially when I was at my most vulnerable.”

“And you used that as a wakeup call, didn’t you?”

“I did. My father’s charity, the Maria Stark Foundation stepped in immediately in the wake of the shooting and set up the ColumbiaStrong fund to pay for the medical care and funeral expenses of the other victims. The fund has ensured that everyone had access to the surgeries they needed, as well as providing therapy for those of us who developed PTSD and other mental illnesses from that day.”

“It’s an incredible initiative,” Stephen agreed, “and we’ve heard that you’ve taken a more hands on approach in recent months.” Aurora looked at him for a moment, trying to work out what he was referring to. “It’s been reported that you’ve been visiting hospitals over the summer.”

 _‘Ahhh’_ , she thought, _‘So people finally caught on to that.’_

“I thought I was doing a good job of sneaking around and keeping that out of the news,” she chuckled, attempting to cover her nervousness. “Ever since my own amputation I’ve been visiting the children’s hospitals and speaking to kids with prosthetics and residual limbs.”

“They must love meeting you.”

“They’re incredible kids. Honesty I think they’ve helped me more than I’ve helped them. They’ve always got a smile on their faces and they don’t see themselves as victims. Meeting them helped me come to terms with my own situation.”

“You’re very humble.”

“I just don’t like to take credit for things like I’m some hero. I’m just 21 year old girl that survived something horrific and I’m just trying to do the best I can with what I’ve got.”

“Well we’ve got some people joining us tonight who are also doing the best they can with what they’ve got,” Stephen said to the camera, the audience clapping along. “We’ll be right back with more of the incredible survivors of the 2015 Columbia Shooting and a performance by Aurora Stark.”

As the cameras cut to the commercials, Aurora stood up, making her way off the set to where Mark was waiting for her. “You did great,” he said and they both turned to watch the crew swap out the seat she’d just vacated with a three seater sofa and add three bar stools behind it. There were 5 other survivors of the shooting guesting on the show, all choosing to be interviewed together as apposed the solo interview that Aurora had just given.

“Welcome back to the late show,” Colbert said when they returned from the commercial break. “I’m joined by 5 incredible young men and women; Chris Watkins, Jacinta Flores, Brandy Taylor, Jacob Lawler and Daniel Thomas.”

Aurora watched the interview on one of the monitors backstage. She felt like her own experience was being recounted by the 5 people on set as they discussed their own recoveries and the challenges facing them, so similar to her own. 3 had returned to Columbia to continue their studies, while the other 2, like Aurora, couldn’t face going back. They all had a range of injuries, but she found that they all shared the same burden of nightmares, flashbacks and guilt. After Colbert threw to another commercial break, Aurora headed back out onto the set, this time heading for the stage area. She smiled at the members of Harry’s new band, grateful that they agreed to join her for this performance, and she felt a little less nervous with them sitting behind her after spending so much time with them all in her home studio. Sarah gave her a supportive thumbs up from where she was already sat behind her drum kit, Adam similarly smiling in support with his base guitar in hand, and despite feeling more at home with a guitar in his hands, Mitch had happily volunteered to play piano once he’d heard Aurora talking to Harry about how scared she felt to play live. She didn’t allow herself much time to be nervous about her first solo performance in years, taking a seat on the stool set up behind the microphone and listening on silently as Stephen continued to interview the other 5 survivors. She wiped her sweaty palm against her thigh and then she heard Stephen thanking his guests before walking over towards where she and the band waited. 

“With her new single raising money for the ColumbiaStrong fund,” he said into the camera, “this is Aurora Stark with _Reaper_.” The lights dimmed across the set, a solitary spotlight softly lighting where she sat as the song began.

_Broke down, thought that I would drown  
Hoped that I'd be found, 'fore I hit the ground  
Sun rays out the corner of my eye  
Saw you weeping, saw you creeping  
Saw you sneaking in the shadow's dawn  
I feel so strong  
Saw you out the corner of my eye_

_D_ _on't come for me today  
I'm feeling good  
I'mma savour it  
Don't come for me today  
I'm feeling good  
I remember when  
You came to take me away  
So close I was to heaven's gates  
But no baby, no baby, not today  
Oh, you tried to track me down  
You followed me like the darkest cloud  
But no baby, no baby, not today  
Oh reaper  
Oh no baby, no baby, not today  
Oh reaper  
Oh no baby, no baby, not today_

_So come back when I'm good to go  
I got drinks to drink, and a man to hold  
I got good things to do with my life, yeah  
Oh, I wanna dance in the open breeze  
Feel the wind in my hair, hear the ocean sing  
I got good things to feel in my life, yeah_

_Don't come for me today  
I'm feeling good  
I'mma savour it  
Don't come for me today  
I'm feeling good  
I remember when  
You came to take me away  
So close I was to heaven's gates  
But no baby, no baby, not today  
Oh, you tried to track me down  
You followed me like the darkest cloud  
But no baby, no baby, not today  
Oh reaper  
Oh no baby, no baby, not today  
Oh reaper  
Oh no baby, no baby, not today_

_Reaper_

As the song finished, the lights lifted, and Stephen walked out to hug Aurora before turning to the camera as the audience applauded. “Aurora Stark everybody!” Stephen yelled. “ _Reaper_ is available now, all proceeds going to the ColumbiaStrong fund to support victims of gun violence. We’ll be right back.”

She quickly hugged Mitch, Sarah and Adam before following Stephen back over to the desk, joining the others on the sofa.

“That was an incredible song,” Stephen said when the show returned from the ad break. “Thank you for sharing that with us, Aurora.”

“Thank you,” she replied.

“Now back at the start of the show we were talking about the ColumbiaStrong fund started by the Stark family to help survivors of the shooting, and I’m interested to hear what you all think about it.”

“I wouldn’t be sitting here without that money,” Brandy said. “My mom’s health insurance wouldn’t have covered the therapy I needed afterwards, and I was really struggling. My dad isn’t around so my mom was already working 2 jobs to pay the bills and send my 3 younger sisters to a good school. My medical bills would have bankrupted us if the Starks hadn’t helped us.”

Everyone else nodded and agreed, adding their own versions of the same story, while Aurora felt her eyes growing damp. She knew that the foundation had paid peoples bills and she knew that her father’s money had helped people but being confronted by it made it all the more real to her.

“I know Aurora was saying earlier in the show that she felt guilty that Iron Man and Captain America got to her so fast, but I’m grateful they did,” Daniel added. “If she hadn’t been on campus and they hadn’t responded, I hate to think about how many more of us would have died that day. When Iron Man stopped the shooter, he was heading for one of the busiest parts of campus. A lot of people walked away unharmed because Aurora sent out that SOS.”

As he spoke, Aurora felt her cheeks burning and she ducked her head in embarrassment. If she’d known that agreeing to this interview would lead to these people praising her for her actions last year, she would have declined the invitation. She didn’t deserve their praise or their thanks. All she’d done that day was cower under a table in fear and call her dads to come save her, but here these other survivors were, acting like she’d saved peoples lives. She hated it.

“I don’t know about everyone else, but I know I deal with a lot of guilt,” Jacob said. “My therapist called it survivors’ guilt and he said it’s pretty common for those who experience trauma to struggle with trying to understand why they survived when others died.” Everyone else nodded in agreement. “Aurora, I want to thank you, even though I’m pretty sure you don’t feel like you deserve it. You saved a lot of people that day and the money that your family has donated has saved a lot more. You shouldn’t be ashamed of your privilege because your using to help people around you. So, thank you.”

Aurora felt a few tears slip down her cheeks, painfully aware of the audience and cameras watching every moment. She didn’t want this. She didn’t want them thanking her for something she didn’t deserve.

“It’s very nice of you to say all of that but I shouldn’t be the one you’re thanking,” she said, quickly wiping at the tears threatening to drip down her blushing cheeks. “The first responders deserve our gratitude. The doctors and nurses. And my dads were the ones to set up the money so please don’t thank me for that. I was lying in a hospital bed just trying to hold myself together just like the rest of you. I’m not anyone’s hero.”

Jacinta, the blonde sitting next to Aurora on the sofa, pulled her into a tight hug.

“As you can see ladies and gentlemen,” Stephen said to the camera’s as the two girls hugged. “The emotional scars left behind by this tragedy are still very fresh in the minds of those who survived. Thank you for joining us this evening in commemorating those we lost and those still healing. Aurora’s single, _Reaper_ , is now available for purchase from all the usual places with all profits going to the ColumbiaStrong fund to ensure support is available for those affected by gun violence. Thank you for watching and goodnight.”

Stephen stood up, walking around the desk to shake everyone’s hand as the audience applauded and Aurora pulled herself back together. She said her farewells as soon as she could, making her way backstage to where Mark and the band were waiting for her.

“Sorry,” he said. “I didn’t know it was going to go that way.”

“It’s ok Mark,” Rori promised. “I don’t think anyone expected that to happen.”

“Let’s get you guys home yeah?” Mark replied. “Steve said he was cooking a big dinner for everyone.”


	13. Wired Autocomplete Interview: October 2016

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> After 80k words with Aurora I thought it might be nice for her to do an interview to reiterate what we already know about her before we continue on with this story. Also I've been watching a lot of autocomplete interviews and wanted to write one :) Hope you enjoy

“Hello, I’m Aurora Stark and this is WIRED’s Google Autocomplete Interview.”

Rori lifted the first card, holding it up for the camera as she peeled off the cover and read out the first question. “Is Aurora Stark British? I am. I was born in south London and I lived there until I was 16. I live in New York now, but the accent is still sticking around.” She peeled off the next piece of tape to read the next question. “Is Aurora Stark married? Not yet, but my wonderful fiancé Harry and I are getting married early next year. Is Aurora Stark an amputee? Yes, I have a below elbow amputation. I wear this prosthetic on my left arm which my dad built for me.” She tucked a strand of hair behind her hair before continuing to peel the little strips of tape from the card. “Is Aurora Stark tattooed? Yeah, I’ve got four so far. I’ve got a Stony tatt inside my wrist which I actually got done twice. Originally, I had it on my left wrist, but I had to have it redone on my right when I had my hand amputated. I have a rose in between my shoulder blades and the other two are on my ribs on my left. There’s a yellow taxicab for my mum and I’ve got the One Direction lyrics, ‘ _not even the gods above’_. Is Aurora Stark a country singer? I’m not but I love country music, so I’ve covered a few country songs on my YouTube channel and I recently collaborated with Rascal Flatts on their new album that dropped last week. Last one for this card; Is Aurora Stark vegetarian? No but Harry is, so we often go to vegetarian restaurants and we cook a lot of veggie meals.”

She threw the card away towards the camera with a grin before being handed the next card and continuing through the process of peeling the tape and reading the question aloud. “Who is Aurora Stark dating? I’m dating Harry Styles. Who is Aurora Stark best friend? My best friend is an incredible woman called Ella Clarke who has been my best friend since we were 3 years old. Who has Aurora Stark written for? Well that’s a long answer; I’ve written a lot of songs that have been recorded by a lot of different artists over the last 4 or so years. There’s been the Jonas Brothers, Demi Lovato, 5sos, James Arthur, Gryffin, One Direction and a lot more. Moving on to the next one; Who is Aurora Starks dad? Well I’m very lucky that I have two of them. Tony Stark is my biological dad, and Steve Rogers is my other dad, but I call him Pops. And the last question for this card is; who is Aurora Starks _Always Gonna Love You_ written about? So, that was a song I wrote back in early 2014 that I ended up giving to Alana Springsteen to record. I wrote it when Harry and I first started dating and it’s all about that feeling of first love and the fear that it won’t last but that you know that you’ll always remember how it felt to be in the beginning with each other. I think the lyrics are pretty clear, but yeah it’s definitely about Harry.”

She blushed, always a little shy talking so openly about her feelings for Harry, knowing how much his fans would hang on her every word whenever she spoke about their relationship. “Alright, next card. What does Aurora Starks channel name mean? I’m assuming you mean my YouTube channel **AuroraBArtful** , which basically just a play on the fact that I was being artful, and my last name was Bennett before I changed it to Stark, so my name was literally Aurora B when I made that channel. What languages does Aurora Stark speak? Ahh pretty much just English. I learned a little French in school, and I’ve learnt a little Russian from my aunt Nat but I’m not very good with either. What did Aurora Stark write _Reaper_ about? OK so _Reaper_ is a song I released last month, and I wrote it with my good friend Niall Horan about the Columbia shooting. It was quite an emotional song for me to write and I don’t think I could have done it without Niall. It was a really crucial part of my recovery, just being able to put into words what that day was like. I wrote quite a lot about the shooting but in the end, _Reaper_ felt like the right one to release, given that it has a really hopeful and positive vibe to it. I think it speaks better to where I am now, a year later. What does Aurora Stark do? It depends; I paint, I write songs, I sing, and I bake great brownies. What is Aurora Starks charity? I’m guessing this is probably about the Maria Stark foundation, which is not my charity, but I have been posting about it pretty constantly over the last year. My dad started the foundation in my grandmother’s name and since Columbia, I’ve been using the foundation to help everyone who was affected by the shooting. We’ve been making sure that everyone who needs it has access to affordable medical care and mental health services and I’ve been doing a lot of advocacy work surrounding gun violence as well.”

She threw away the card, reaching out to take the next one offered to her.   
“Alrighty, last card; When was Aurora Stark born? January 4th, 1995. Why is Aurora Stark famous?” She laughed in response to this question. “Honestly that is a question I ask myself all the time. The people around me are famous so I am by association? When is Aurora Stark releasing an album? No time soon. I get asked this one a lot online and while I really appreciate how many people seem to want me to record and release my own music, I’m just not that interested in a solo career. I really enjoy writing and I’m currently getting back into playing. I really like collaborating with other artists and there are a few songs in the works at the moment, but I don’t really want to do it on my own. Moving on, Can Aurora Stark play guitar? No, I cannot. I am currently relearning the piano with my prosthetic but maybe after I get that down, I’ll try to learn the guitar. I’ve always thought it was a very cool instrument to play. And the last question is; Why does Aurora Stark wear her engagement ring on her right hand? Because I don’t have a left hand. I mean, when Harry first proposed my hand was held together by pins and plates in a cast, so I started wearing it on my right hand and by the time I had my amputation surgery it just felt natural for it to be on my right hand, so I don’t really think about it being on the wrong hand anymore. And that’s all your pressing questions according to google.”


	14. The CMAs: November 2016

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Check out my tumblr for fake instagram posts and spotify playlists  
> https://abundanceofsoph.tumblr.com/post/626851540633796608/skyfire-2-the-indefinite-hiatus
> 
> Don’t forget to leave a comment :)

Aurora had slowly been increasing the amount of time she wore her prosthetic every day in anticipation of the upcoming CMAs. While she wasn’t ashamed of her body and had even recently posted a selfie on Instagram of her stump without the compression stocking, she wanted to be able to wear the prosthetic on the red carpet and throughout the entire evening. She’d explained all of this to Ben during a check-up and he had helped to create a schedule for her to slowly build up to a full evening. Despite her impatience she understood the need for hesitancy after Ben had explained the risk of pressure sores. She had also found that the transmitting device that sat behind her ear would start to give her a headache around the two hour mark and Tony and Peter were currently working to solve that problem. 

A week before the CMAs, Harry took Aurora out to her favourite Gallery, the Acquavella on the Upper East Side and they wandered the familiar halls hand in hand. After confessing how much she loved the gallery during Harry’s first visit to see her in New York, he had made a point of bringing her here whenever he was in town, although they tried to come at odd times in the middle of the week to avoid the crowds. 

“One day I want to have a piece hanging on these walls,” Aurora murmured as they walked.

“You will,” Harry replied, kissing the top of her head where she lent it against his shoulder. She smiled at the confidence of his statement, so sure in his belief of her. 

They wandered the gallery for a little while longer before leaving and crossing 5th Avenue into Central Park. They strolled through the park, beanies tugged over their heads and scarves wrapped tightly around their necks to ward off the autumn chill. The sky was gloomy and no one they passed by recognized them as they meandered along. They were nearly to the southwest corner of the park, Avengers Tower looming into the sky above them when the darkening clouds opened above them and the rained poured down. Aurora let out a shriek, quickly followed by peals of laughter, which Harry echoed and they both wordlessly let go of each other to take off running. By the time they stepped into the lobby of the tower they were drenched and laughing. As the strode towards the elevator, Aurora slipped on the polished tiles, throwing out her arm to save her fall as she tipped backwards. Unfortunately, it was her left hand and the impact ricocheted up through the socket of the prosthesis and into the stump of her forearm. She let out a strained hiss of pain, her right hand clutching at her elbow as she sat on the floor, grateful that the rain still clinging to her skin masked the presence of tears on her cheeks. Harry helped her to her feet and moved them both towards the elevator. 

“I’m fine,” she whispered. “It was just a little slip H.”

“You’re not fine, let me see,” he murmured in reply. She kept telling him she was fine until the elevator reached the penthouse and they both headed for her rooms. “Ok let’s just get showered and changed into something dry,” Harry conceded once it was abundantly clear she wasn’t going to admit to the pain radiating up her arm. 

Aurora choked back a sob as she removed her prosthesis, the skin beneath an angry shade of red. She stripped out of her soaking wet clothes and followed Harry into the bathroom where he was already standing under the hot water. He stepped aside to let her under the water, his hands gently resting on her hips and his chest pressed against her back.

“Don’t shut me out,” he whispered, pressing kisses against her shoulder as the shower pelted down on them. “Please don’t pretend everything’s ok when I know it isn’t.”

As the warm water cascaded over her body and Harry continued to whisper against her skin, she felt herself beginning to tremble. Once the first sob broke, Harry quickly spun her around to face him, holding her tightly against his chest. When her knees buckled, he kept her standing, reaching out with one hand to turn off the shower before wrapping towels around them both and carrying Aurora out of the bathroom. He laid them both down on the bed and held her tightly as her shaking soften and her sobs eased.

“Let me see it,” he said when she finally fell silent. He held his breath as she held out her right arm, dark bruises already forming across her pale skin. “JARVIS? I need you to call Dr. Walker and Ben Sherman. Set up an appointment for the morning.”

“Right away Mr. Styles.”

“I’m gonna go get you some painkillers and then we’ll just stay in here and watch a movie ok?” he told her. She nodded, moving back from where she was curled up against him to let him stand, pulling on a pair of sweats and a t-shirt before leaving the room. While he was gone Aurora climbed off the bed, letting her towel fall to the floor before slipping into a comfortable pair of shorts and one of Harry’s shirts. She climbed back into the bed, flicking through Netflix while she waited.

Harry returned a little while later with a tray of food. He placed it on the bedside table before joining Aurora under the covers. Once he was comfortably settled against the headboard, he passed her a glass of water and a few pills which she gladly took, swallowing quickly before placing the glass on her own bedside table. Harry placed the tray between them on the bed and Aurora looked at him questioningly as she took in the plates of pasta and large slices of chocolate cake.

“Steve was cooking dinner when I got to the kitchen,” he explained. “Told him you weren’t feeling well and we’re spending the night in.”

She thanked him, leaning into his side as she rested her bowl on her lap and dug in. a generic romcom playing on the screen at the foot of the bed. By the time they’d finished eating, the painkillers were taking effect and Aurora found her eyes growing heavy as she curled further into Harry’s arms. He kissed her head, shifting them both so that they were lying down beneath the duvet and within minutes she had drifted off to sleep.

They woke the following morning to JARVIS informing them that both Dr Walker and Ben Sherman would meet them in the med bay downstairs in an hour. They dressed and ate a quick breakfast in the kitchen before heading downstairs.

Harry watched on as Dr Walker and Ben both inspected Aurora’s arm, using the med bay equipment to take an x-ray as well as an ultrasound.

Ben looked at her arm, pressing against the stump until Aurora winced. “You have a bone bruise,” Dr Walker announced, “but it’s nothing too serious.”

“How do we fix it?” Aurora asked, her gaze flicking between the two of them.

“We’ll get you some painkillers and you can use heat packs to deal with the discomfort,” Ben replied. “It should heal up on its own after a few weeks of rest, but you need to avoid using your prosthetic until it’s completely healed.”

“A few weeks?” she gasped. “No, I’m supposed to perform at the CMAs next week.”

“Are you supposed to be playing?” Ben asked her gently, sensing her panic.

“No, just singing,” Aurora explained. “I just wasn’t expecting to be on a stage that big without this.” She gestured to the prosthetic hand, sitting on the table beside them. “I’m not sure I’m ready for that.”

“Hey,” Harry interrupted softly, drawing Auroras attention to his calm face. His eyes swam with all the love and affection he felt for her and she found her breathing levelling out. The panic left her in the wake of his confident expression. “If you’re not ready to go out there without it, we call Mark right now and cancel. But I think you are beautiful. No one watching is going to see anything less than a strong, brave woman, who is an incredible singer.”

“My dress doesn’t have sleeves,” Aurora replied, her brain focusing on the smaller issues in an attempt to stave off the panic building in her chest.

“We could get you another dress,” Harry chuckled, “but think of what it would mean to all of those kids we’ve been visiting. Imagine them watching on tv as you stand up in front of everyone, without shame, without the need to hide.”

“Hadn’t thought of that,” Rori mumbled. “It would mean the world to them.”

“No pressure,” Harry said, “but I think this could be a really important step for you.”

xXx

Aurora flew to Tennessee on her own, while Harry remained in New York to continue working on his album and also allowing her to focus on rehearsals without him interjecting. This was her thing and he didn’t want to feel like he was trying to steal her thunder. He would fly in the morning of the awards allowing plenty of time to get ready before walking the red carpet with her.

She spent the few days leading up to the show in rehearsals with Rascal Flatts, her excitement for the awards show growing the closer it got. Before she knew it, Wednesday rolled around and Harry flew in just after lunch time. They met up at the hotel, and with the help of their hair and makeup teams they got dressed and ready to go. Aurora had decided against changing her dress and instead stuck with her original choice of a sleek, black strapless cocktail dress with a tight skirt that hugged her curves, ending midway down her thighs. Harry chose to keep his own outfit simple, opting for a form fitting black suit, with a black collared shirt. The bruising on her arm had began to fade over the last few days now a soft yellowing of her skin was the only sign that anything had happened.

Aurora found her nerves growing as their car arrived at the Bridgestone Arena. Harry climbed out first, buttoning his jacket and then holding out his hand to help her out of the car. He squeezed her hand as the car drove away and the couple smiled brightly as camera’s flashed around them. They made their way down the red carpet, Harry’s hand rarely leaving Aurora’s as she gripped his tightly. He only let go for brief moments when they stopped occasionally for interviews and photos, before finally reaching the venue and stepping inside, away from the prying eyes of the media. Ushers directed them to their seats, where they found Rascal Flatts and their wives waiting for them. Harry shook hands with the boys and kissed the wives on the cheeks, while Aurora received hugs from everyone.

Towards the end of the show, while the live broadcast was in a commercial break, Aurora, Jay, Garry and Joe stood up and made their way backstage to prepare for their performance. Harry shuffled down the row to sit next to Joe’s wife Tiffany as seat fillers arrived next to him.

Aurora changed into a floor length red gown and swapped out her earrings before joining the three men behind the curtain, side of stage. She rubbed her hand nervously over the exposed skin of her stump, her heart racing as she prepared to step out in front of hundreds of people, countless more watching at home. Garry gave her shoulder a comf0rting squeeze as the three of them headed out on to the stage. 

“From their new album, Back to Us, please welcome to the stage Rascal Flatts with their latest single, _Are You Happy Now?_ ” The audience applauded at the announcer’s words, and then the song began. Aurora picked up her microphone and waited for her que as Garry’s voice filled the arena.

_Someone let your secret out  
Everybody 'round here's talking about, how your knight in shining armour let you down  
And now you're alone, I told you so  
This is what you wanted, baby, now you got it  
Something's wrong and you can't put your finger on it  
Could it be that maybe, you did that to me, baby  
And now you found  
  
_

Aurora stepped out on to the stage, her head held high as she joined the chorus. She continued walking until she reached Garry’s side, his smile matching her own as she finally let herself enjoy the moment, all of her anxiety melting away as the words poured out of her.

_  
What goes around comes back around  
It's been that way forever  
Baby, just look at you now, barely holding it together  
We were so in love, but you gave that up  
Just look around, are you happy now?  
Oooh, are you happy now?_

Aurora walked forward to the front of the stage; the audience spread out before her as she sang her solo verse. _  
  
Yeah, you're gonna spend some sleepless nights  
Crying in the glow of the TV light  
With some sad song on and a glass of wine  
Just to sit in the pain, baby, what a shame  
This is what you wanted, baby now you got it  
Something's wrong and you can't put your finger on it  
Could it be that maybe, you did that to me, baby  
And now you found_

Garry walked out to the front of the stage to join her once more, their voices blending together as they harmonized, the music swelling around them as the song grew.

_What goes around comes back around  
It's been that way forever  
Baby, just look at you now, barely holding it together  
We were so in love, but you gave that up  
Just look around  
Are you happy now?  
  
Now that I'm not around (now that I'm not around)  
Now that you've finally lost what you thought that you needed  
Never would have treated your heart like you did  
  
What goes around comes back around  
It's been that way forever  
Baby, just look at you now, barely holding it together  
Oh, we were so in love, oh, but you gave that up  
Just look around (just look around)  
  
What goes around comes back around  
It's been that way forever  
We were so in love (we were so in love)  
But you gave that up (but you gave it up)  
Just look around (just look around)  
Are you happy now? (are you happy now?)  
Are you happy?_

_What goes around comes back around_

Garry wrapped an arm around her shoulders at the end of the song and they were both grinning from ear to ear as the audience applauded. Aurora caught sight of Harry, locking eyes with him and blowing a kiss. Joe and Jay reached them at the front of the stage standing on either side of them, all with their arms thrown around each other. They waved to the crowd before leaving the stage.

Since they were one of the final performances of the night, they remained backstage until the end of the show and eventually Harry and the guys wives made their way back to them. As soon as he spotted her, Harry rushed to Rori’s side, wrapping his arms around her waist and lifting her off the ground. She giggled as he spun her, kissing her deeply when he finally set her back on the ground.

“You were amazing,” he said, somewhat breathless from the kiss. “I’m so proud of you.”

“Couldn’t agree more,” Jay agreed. “You’d never guess you’ve been out of the game for a year Rori. You absolutely killed it out there.”

Aurora blushed profusely in response, mumbling a thank you, her arms still wrapped around Harry as he stared at her with so much love and adoration.


	15. The Bachelor(ette) Weekend in the Cotswolds: Nov 2016

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This wasn’t meant to be such a big chapter, but I was just having so much fun with all of them together having fun so here you go, enjoy 3k+  
> Also I feel like I neglect Aurora’s friendship with Liam too much and while she’s definitely closest to Louis with Niall being a close second, I think she’s still really great friends with Liam as well so it’s time to give them a little time together in this chapter.

Aurora pulled her coat tighter around her as she left Erskine house and headed for the garage. Harry trailed behind her with their bags, locking the front door behind him. The mid November wind bit coldly at her cheeks as she unlocked his land rover and climbed into the passenger seat. She cranked the heater, warm air blasting out of the vents by the time Harry slipped into the driver’s seat and pulled up the directions on his phone. Aurora connected her own phone to the Bluetooth and queued up their go to road trip playlist. Her fingers started to warm up and she finally slipped out her jacket as Harry merged onto the North Circular, heading west and leaving London behind them. They’d flown out of Nashville a few days after the CMAs and spent the last 4 days lounging around Harry’s north London house. Louis had text a few hours earlier to let them know that he, Niall and Lottie had picked up the keys for the cottage they were renting and were heading back into town to pick up some groceries to get them through the long weekend. Liam, Gemma and Ella were already on their way and would probably arrive an hour ahead of Harry and Aurora given that Harry’s phone estimated that they should arrive in Cirencester just before dinner time. 

It was getting dark by the time they turned off the small country lane into the driveway that led to a cute two story, thatched roof cottage on the banks of Somerset lagoon. Light spilled from every window and Harry pulled the car up next to the 2 other vehicles parked around the side of the house. Aurora had barely made it halfway to the front door before it was thrown wide open and Louis came rushing out into the yard. He wrapped his arms around her, and she squeezed him tightly in return. 

“Oh yeah, no that’s fine,” Harry huffed jokingly as he walked to the back of the car. “I’ll get the bags; you guys just continuing making out.”

“If you insist,” Rori laughed at him. “Missed you Lou.”

“Missed you too love,” he replied, stepping back from the hug with a broad smile still on his face. “Head inside where it’s warm and I’ll give Harold a hand before he gets in a strop.”

As Rori headed inside the cottage to where Ella, Gemma, Lottie, Liam and Niall were all gathered around the wood fire in the sitting room, Louis walked over to where Harry was pulling bags out of the car. “Good to see you lad,” he said, quickly hugging Harry before picking up one of the bags and leading the way inside.

“Good to see you too, mate,” Harry replied.

Louis led him upstairs to where the master bedroom had been left for him and Rori and after dumping their bags, the pair wandered back downstairs to join the rest of the group.

They were all scattered around on the sofas and on cushions on the floor, drinks in hand as they chatted. Harry collapsed onto the ground in front of Aurora, her fingers immediately going to his hair.

They stayed there, chatting in front of the fire and at some point, Gemma went into the kitchen to throw a few frozen pizzas in the oven and get everyone another round of drinks.

“Can I just thank all of you?” Aurora said after the pizza was finished and the fire was burning low. “Lou and Gem this was such a great idea. A chill long weekend in the country was exactly what I think we all needed. I know I needed it.”

“Don’t mention it,” Gemma shrugged. “It’s just great to all be able to get together.”

“Besides,” Niall added, “we had to do something celebrate the first of the group getting married. We must be getting old now with Lou being a dad and Liam having one on the way.”

“Look at us, being all grown up,” Liam joked. “It’s kind of terrifying.”

“Speak for yourselves,” Lottie said. “Just because you lot are middle aged.”

“Middle aged?” Louis gasped. “You better watch yourself little one.”

Harry rolled his head back against Aurora’s knees, looking up at her through his curls, a wide smile pulling at his dimples. Everyone was laughing around them and Lottie threw a cushion at Louis’ head, but neither Harry nor Rori noticed as she lent forward to kiss him, chuckling at the awkward angle.

“Looks like it’s time to call it a night,” Ella announced. “The bride and groom are starting to get disgusting.”

“Heyyyy,” Harry drawled out, still looking at his wife to be with a goofy grin. “We’re not disgusting, we’re adorable.”

“El’s right,” Niall agreed, “it’s a bit disgusting how in love you two are.”

Everyone laughed as Rori muttered something about them being jealous, but a little while later they all headed off towards the bedrooms. Louis and Lottie took one of the rooms downstairs, and Niall and Liam took the other, while Ella and Gemma shared the other room upstairs across the landing from Rori and Harry’s room.

“I better not hear you two,” Gemma threatened as they reached the bedroom doors.

“Wear headphones then,” Harry replied, earning him a slap on the chest from Rori.

Gemma and Ella rolled their eyes at each other, but their smiles belayed their amusement as they closed the door behind them and left the couple alone.

“You’re such a shit stirrer Styles,” Rori chuckled as she started getting ready for bed.

“Just fulfilling my duties as a little brother,” he said. “Wouldn’t mind fulfilling my duties as a loving fiancé either,” he added, his hands landing low on Rori’s hips as he stepped closer to her.

“No, you don’t,” she replied. “You’re drunk and we are going to go to sleep.”

Harry pouted, widening his eyes as his hands trailed under the hem of her shirt, tracing the smooth skin of her back.

“If you behave yourself tonight, we can fool around in the morning before the girls wake up,” she conceded, unconsciously leaning into his hold.

“Fine,” Harry agreed, dropping his hands and stripping out of his clothes before climbing into the bed.

xXx

The sky was bright blue, without a hint of clouds when the group all made their way into the small kitchen downstairs on their first morning. The late autumn chill of the previous day had been chased away and the pleasant weather raised everyone’s spirits as they chatted over coffee, toast and cereal.

Given the beautiful day they decided to make the most of it and go for a walk to explore the area. They headed off around mid-morning, Aurora walking ahead with her arm looped through Ella’s as the two laughed and caught up after months apart.

Harry hung back a few metres, smiling softly every time Aurora threw her head back in laughter; after such a painful year, he was so thankful to see her having far more good days than bad as of late. He was startled out of his thoughts when Gemma threw an arm around his shoulder.

“What’s going on in that head of yours, baby brother?” she asked.

“Just thinking about what a great idea this trip was,” he replied, smiling softly at his sister. “Thanks for pulling it all together.”

“It’s what a Best Woman is for,” she said with a cheeky grin, “and you both deserve to get away from it all for a bit. You’ve both had to deal with so much and you’re both too young to be as stressed as you are.”

“You’re starting to sound like mum,” he replied, rolling his eyes behind his sunglasses but secretly touched by his sister’s words.

“Well good,” Gemma chuckled. “She’s a bloody smart woman, our mother.”

“That she is,” Harry agreed, laughing as they watched Liam chase Louis ahead of them, brandishing his drink bottle as a weapon. “You might have a point about us being young.”

“And to think they’re dads,” Gemma laughed. “Lord help us.”

They group continued wandering the countryside for the better part of 2 hours, finally returning to the cottage for a late lunch as the wind picked up, ensuring that the rest of the day was reserved for indoor activities. They spread out around the sitting room playing rounds of cards that slowly turned into drinking games. Aurora sat on the ground in between Harry’s legs where he sat on the sofa, her head tilting back as he combed his fingers through her hair and braided it back from her face. He had been styling her hair most days over the past few months after watching her struggle to pull it back one handed and frustratingly leaving it down most days. After he snapped the hair tie into place at the end of the braid, he kissed the crown of her head and she tipped her head back, her lips puckered in silent request, smiling softly when he obliged with a soft peck.

xXx

On the second day of the trip, the four girls piled into Harry’s Land Rover and headed into the nearby town to the day spa there. Louis and Gemma had organized for them to spend most of the day there, being pampered with mani-pedis, massages and facials. Given that it was the offseason for tourists, the small little town was quiet, and they were able to move around unrecognized, but even so Louis had made sure to book out the spa for the day so that they were the only ones inside. Without realizing it herself, the day was exactly what Aurora had needed and she closed her eyes, leaning her head back as her feet soaked in the warm, rose scented water. One of the staff had just finished applying a mud mask to Rori’s face and had now turned her attention to buffing the nails on her right hand in preparation for applying the pastel tone gel colours she’d picked out before sitting down. The other girls were similarly being pampered on either side of her and once their nails were dry and their faces were cleaned, they were each handed glasses of champagne as focus was turned to their feet. Aurora had picked out a simple peach tone for her toes, while Ella, sitting to her left, had opted for a bright red colour on both her fingers and toes.

After there pedicures were finished the girls headed out to the enclosed patio where a light lunch was spread out for them. The large floor to ceiling windows allowed the bright sunlight to stream into the room without the inconvenience of the biting wind. The girls ate and drank, laughing often and just enjoying the day. Lottie made sure to take plenty of photos, catching Rori and Gemma sipping tea near the window in their robes looking very pampered.

“What do you think the boys are up to right now?” Ella asked as they headed back inside for their full body oil massages.

“I don’t think I want to know,” Lottie snickered, causing all of them to break out into giggles as they imagined what the boys could be getting up to on their own.

Back at the cottage the 4 men were lounging around on the two sofas, empty beer bottles scattered on the coffee table in front of them, their attention trained on the tv on the wall and the controllers in their hands.

“Does anyone feel like Paul’s about to walk in the door any minute and yell at us for being late for rehearsals or something?” Liam asked.

“Oh, thank god,” Niall laughed. “I thought it was just me. How are we still not used to the concept of free time after almost a year?”

“It’s so bloody weird,” Harry agreed. “I’ll catch myself every so often just thinking I’m late for something. Like there’s somewhere I need to be and then I remember that there isn’t. It’s the weirdest feeling.”

They all nodded, smiling at the knowledge that they were all struggling to adjust after years spent on such tight schedules that would have made relaxing trips like this one impossible.

“Miss being on stage some days though,” Louis mumbled.

“Can’t wait to get back out there,” Niall said. “After dropping the single in September I’m itching to get out there.”

“Agreed,” Louis replied. “Can’t wait to get back into it next month.”

“You’re dropping the single on X Factor, yeah?” Liam asked to which Louis nodded with an excited grin.

“Think I’m gonna release the album after the wedding,” Harry added. “Gonna be too hectic if I do it before and Rors and I are looking to buy a new place together in London.”

“Really?” Liam asked. “What about Erskine?”

“I was gonna sell it, but Rori thinks we should just rent it out.”

“She doesn’t wanna live there?” Niall questioned. “Thought she liked the place.”

“Nah it’s me,” Harry answered. “I want to get a place that isn’t hers or mine but it’s just ours and we can decorate it together and just make a home for us.”

“You’re disgustingly romantic, Harold,” Louis laughed. “Please tell me you’re not writing your own vows because I think I might vomit at the ceremony if you do.”

All of the boys broke into howls of laughter and Harry threw a cushion at Louis’ head, only succeeding in making him laugh louder when it bounced off his shoulder.

Aurora felt so relaxed that she was almost melting into the passenger seat of the car when Gemma pulled up in front of the cottage. The girls all tumbled out of the car and into the house, finding the boys in the kitchen attempting to throw together dinner for them all. Aurora collapsed into Harry’s arms the moment she reached him, her arms wrapping around his waist as her head found its way to the familiar cushion of his pecks.

“Did you have a nice time?” he murmured, his hands lifting automatically to rub along her spine. She hummed in response; her eyes closed as she smiled softly at him. “How about a nap before dinner?” he asked, chuckling when she nodded, still not opening her eyes or moving away from his comforting warmth. He let go of her, catching the adorable frown that pinched between her eyebrows for a brief moment before he scooped her up in his arms and carried her upstairs to their room, ignoring the wolf whistles and hollering that filled the kitchen behind them.

Harry placed her gently on the bed, letting her pull him down beside her when she refused to let go of his shirt. She curled against his chest as he settled, her lips following the curve of his jaw until she reached his mouth, smiling into the kiss as her hand trailed under the hem of his shirt and splayed across the smooth expanse of skin.

“Thought we were gonna nap,” Harry mumbled against her lips.

“Not really interested in sleeping,” Rori replied before she trailed her lips down the length of her fiancés neck, pausing at the hollow at the base of his throat as her hand travelled down to the waistband of his joggers. “That ok with you?” she teased.

“Think I like your plan better,” Harry sighed, his own hands wandering across her body.

xXx

On their last day in the cottage Aurora made her way outside after lunch. “Mind if I join you?” she asked, stepping out onto the patio at the back of the cottage.

“Pull up a seat,” Liam replied, smiling softly from where he sat, staring out across the lagoon. The sound of a rowdy game of Charades floated out to them from the sitting room at the front of the house. “Didn’t feel like playing?” he asked.

“Turns out it’s a lot harder to mime one handed then you’d think,” she chuckled, pulling her chunky knit cardigan tighter around her. The sun was shining brightly but the light breeze chased its warmth away before it reached them. “Besides, with you out here there’s an uneven number.”

“Yeah was just on the phone with Cheryl,” Liam explained.

“How is she?”

“She’s good. Just wanted to check in with her, you know.”

“How are you Liam? It’s been too long since you and I got to hang out.”

“I’m really good, Rors,” Liam answered, a soft smile crinkling the skin around his eyes. “Really glad we took the break.”

“It’s nice seeing you all be able to take a breathe,” Rori agreed. “Don’t think any of us realised how insane the schedule was while we were inside it.”

“Yeah it was easy to get caught up in it and just keep looking ahead to the next thing. Feels good to be able to get away like this if we want to.”

“And it’ll be good to be able to stay home with the baby,” Aurora pointed out. “Can’t believe you’re gonna be a dad.”

“I’m so bloody excited Rori. Can’t wait to meet him. You and Haz talked about kids?”

“We have and we both want them, but I’m not ready to rush into it even though I think Harry would have them tomorrow if I agreed. I mean I can’t wait to be a mum and see him be a dad, but I’m just not ready for that. Not with Harry about to drop a solo album and then tour it. I just can’t imagine doing any of that with a baby.”

“That makes sense,” Liam said. “There’s no rush. Maybe we can just try to get you guys down the aisle first. Just because Louis and I are having kids’ young doesn’t mean you guys have too.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Rori agreed.

“H said he asked you to join his band for the tour.”

“He did. Still not sure if I’ll take him up on it.”

“Why not? Thought you’d jump at the chance.”

“The old me wouldn’t have hesitated to say yes,” she admitted. “Everything’s different now.”

“Because of your hand?”

“Yeah. I mean just look at what happened last week. I slipped in the rain and now I can’t wear my prosthetic for weeks. What if something like that happened on a world tour?”

“You know injuries are a worry for anyone on tour,” Liam pointed out. “How many times did one of us fall on stage and hurt ourselves? Or get sick and have to be on vocal rest for days? Things happen that you can’t control, but you can’t let that stop you.”

“I’ve missed your advice Liam,” Aurora sighed. “You’ve always been able to see things so practically when I’m too in my head about something. You’ve got a way of cutting through all the crap and getting straight to the point.”

“So, you’ll do it?”

“I’ll talk to Harry about it, but yeah, I think I will.”

“Good. You two will have a blast on the road. The Styles family travelling show.”

Aurora cracked up laughing. “I will be a Styles by then, won’t I?” she said after she stopped laughing. “Seems crazy we’ll be married in a few months.”

“I’m so happy for you two, you know?” Liam said, reaching out his hand to squeeze hers.

“Thanks Liam.”


	16. “Darling, Just Hold On”: Nov/Dec 2016

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’ve been debating whether to write this chapter for weeks and I’m still not entirely sure whether I should have skipped it. While I use real people's names and real life events in this story, in my head they’re all fictional characters since I don’t really know them or how they would actually act in any of these situations. I more just use their likeness and their situations to inspire the story so this chapter was something I didn’t feel like I should include. I tried not to focus too much on Johannah but I felt the bond between Louis and Aurora was so beautiful that I decided to keep this chapter in. I hope you understand why I’ve made this decision.
> 
> This chapter's also a bit longer than usual because I wanted to soften the blow of the angst with some domestic fluff. Anyway, we all know what’s coming in this chapter so I'll stop stalling and get on with it.

After the trip away, Harry and Aurora decided to stay in London in anticipation of attending the X Factor finale where Louis was going to perform his debut single with Steve Aoki. After the show, Anne and Robin would once again be joining them in New York for the holidays, but in the meantime, they were enjoying spending a few weeks at Harry’s Hampstead house and catching up with Rori’s friends.

One of those days they headed south to Wimbledon, walking the familiar streets of Aurora’s childhood, their winter outfits helping to hide them from prying eyes, however they were stopped a couple of times by observant fans. Aurora offered to take their photos with Harry but he asked them not to post until that evening so that they could enjoy their day without being mobbed. They headed for the Golden Stag as the sun began to set, grateful for the warmth that greeted them as they stepped through the doors. Greg was working behind the bar, his face lighting up as he watched them approach him and he walked around the end of the bar to sweep Rori into his arms. She buried her face into his shoulder as he held her tightly, feeling instantly at home in his arms.

“We missed you sweetheart,” he murmured while placing kisses to the crown of her head.

“Sorry it’s been so long,” she replied, squeezing him tightly one more time before stepping back from the hug.

“Just glad you’re here now,” he smiled. “Good to see you again Harry.”

“Good to see you too, Sir,” Harry replied, offering his hand and chuckling when Greg ignored it to hug him.

“Told you before you can just call me Greg,” he said as they stepped back. “You kids hungry? Grab a table and I’ll go let Helen know that you’re both here.”

They did as they were told, sliding into Aurora’s favourite booth that was close enough to the fireplace without being too hot.

Helen rushed out of the kitchen a few minutes later, beelining straight for their table and pulling Rori out of her seat and into a bone crushing embrace. “Oh, I missed you my darling,” she cooed, holding the younger woman tightly against her. “I swear every time I see you; you look more and more like your mother.”

“Missed you too Helen,” Rori murmured, her eyes glossy in response to Helen’s words.

“Now you’re both far too thin,” she clucked. “Let me get you some food and we’ll see if we can’t put some meet on those bones.”

Harry chuckled as she rushed back towards the kitchen and Aurora settled herself back into the booth. “I like her,” he said. “She reminds me of mum.”

“She reminds me of mine too,” Rori smiled softly, reaching across the table to take Harry’s hand in hers. “Always feel closer to her when I’m here. We should visit more.”

“Well once we buy a place of our own on this side of the river, we can visit all the time.”

“Sounds perfect.”

After dinner, Rori was eyeing the piano in the far corner, her lips twitching up in a slight grin as she remembered the hours she had spent sitting on that bench growing up. Her smile dropped as she once again berated herself for that stupid fall in the lobby a few weeks ago, knowing that she still had another week before she could wear her prosthetic and she was itching to play. “How do you feel about being my left hand?” she asked Harry.

“And what would you need my left hand for?” he asked, a smirk pulling at the corners of his lips.

“When Louis was at tower over summer, he’d play the left hand for me on the piano before I got my prosthetic. Thought we could maybe try that out.”

Harry smiled widely. “Sounds fun. Lead the way.”

Aurora’s answering grin lit up her face and she jumped to her feet joyfully, grabbing Harry’s hand and tugging him across the room towards the piano. The pub wasn’t crowded, with only a few of the regulars on their stools at the bar, a few families finishing their dinner and a couple of young girls sitting by the door. Aurora had noticed the girls flicking glances towards her and Harry over the past hour, and she was pretty sure they were working up the courage to come over and say hi. She laughed as she imagined the stories they would tell their friends tomorrow about Harry Styles playing the piano in the little pub where they had dinner. Helen watched the pair take a seat on the old piano bench, smiling as they laughed, trying to find the rhythm. They stuttered over the start of a song a couple of times before they got the timing right, settling into the tune. Most of the patrons ignored the pair, a few of the regulars smiling softly at the familiar sound after so many years, and the table of girls by the door watched on with rapt attention. Both Aurora and Harry wore matching grins as they played, their arms slung around each other’s backs as together they wove the melody of familiar songs eventually beginning to sing, giving the unsuspecting patrons an exclusive performance that others would have paid hundreds of pounds to attend if given the chance.

xXx

After having dinner at the Golden Stag, Rori and Harry spent the remaining weeks of November meeting with both their wedding planner and their realtor.

The wedding planning was relatively easy going, seeing as how everything was booked in and ready to go. Aurora still had a few more dress fittings in the new year but otherwise everything was finalised for the big day in only a few months’ time.

The house hunting on the other hand was a little less under control. Harry had agreed with Aurora when she suggested that they look at apartments and penthouses as apposed to free standing houses. Her reasoning had been that she wanted to avoid the issues they’d had with fans camping outside Erskine House, and while they were hoping to avoid the publicizing of their new address, they both knew that it would only be a matter of time before Harry’s fans figured it out. Aurora loved his fans and was incredibly grateful that so many people recognised how incredibly talented he was and appreciated him, but she also got frustrated by how invasive they sometimes got about every tiny aspect of his life, and by extension hers as well. After deciding that they wanted an apartment, Aurora had stipulated that they buy south of the river so that she could be closer to Wimbledon, and Harry decreed that they needed at least 4 bedrooms in addition to the master suite. He planned on turning one into an art studio for Aurora, while another could become a simple recording studio, nothing close to the scale of her studios in Avengers Tower, but just a little something to make it feel like home. He hadn’t mentioned anything to Aurora, but the reason he wanted 2 bedrooms left over once they created the studios, was that he planned for one to be turned into a nursey while the other could remain as a traditional guest room for when their families visited. All of these aspects, as well as the need for plenty of room for Harry’s car collection had left their poor realtor, Lee, with the unenviable job of finding the perfect place for the young couple. He found them four different properties and set up private inspections for each.

The first was in Southwark and Harry was immediately impressed the moment they walked into the lobby and were greeted by the doorman. The security of the building was excellent and they both smiled softly at each other as they took the elevator to the 24th floor with Lee.

“Now this isn’t the penthouse apartment,” Lee explained as the entered the apartment. “But there’s only two apartments above you and there’s shared access between you and 3 other apartments for the rooftop garden.”

Aurora let go of Harry’s hand as they wandered into the main living area, large windows opening out to the Thames and a beautiful view of the city.

“The kitchen and entertainment area are all on this level with a bathroom off the entry hall,” Lee continued as they walked around. “There’s 4 bedrooms upstairs including the master suite with walk in robe and ensuite, with an additional bathrooms for the guest rooms.”

“Only 3 spare rooms?” Harry asked. “Not ideal.”

“I don’t really like the idea of climbing those stairs every day,” Aurora added.

“How about we head to the second property?” Lee asked, accepting immediately that this was not the right fit. “We can always come back if you change your mind.”

Harry motioned for Lee to lead the way and they headed back to the elevator. Once they reached the ground they climbed into Harry’s car.

The second property was only a few minutes away, still in Southwark, and just behind the Tate Modern. “I like the idea of just popping over to the galleries,” Aurora noted as they entered the apartment and spotted the familiar building out the window, the river and Millennium bridge also filling in the landscape sprawled out in front of them. While the building ticked off everything on their list, there was something missing that neither Harry nor Aurora could put their finger on. Whatever it was, the third apartment in Vauxhall was also missing it, leaving them with only one property left to view.

“It’s not available today but we can view it on Tuesday if you want to meet me there at 2pm,” Lee explained once they left the third apartment.

“That works for us,” Harry agreed, “we’ll see you then.”

xXx

They arrived in Battersea a few hours before they were meant to meet up with Lee to view the final property on his list, opting to grab lunch in a nearby café and then wander through Battersea Park.

“I used to come here a lot with my mum,” Rori said as they walked, arm in arm, rugged up against the cold wind blowing in off the Thames. “Used to love going to the kid’s zoo, but mum really loved all the flowers, so we’d come every weekend in spring.”

“It’s beautiful here,” Harry agreed. “We filmed a music video here.”

“I know,” Rori laughed. “As soon as the fans found out you were here, Ella actually came down after school to try and meet you all.”

“Really?” Harry asked.

“Yeah, and I would have been right next to her, but I’d already moved to New York. Still remember watching the video and just feeling so nostalgic. Think that’s why it was my favourite song for so long.”

“You never told me that was your favourite.”

“Because it’s embarrassing, Harry.”

“No, it’s not,” he argued. “I think it’s really cute they you were such a big fan. Imagine if you didn’t like our music. You probably wouldn’t have gone to that after party with me and we never would have gotten the chance to get to know each other if you hated the band.”

“It’s still embarrassing to remember I used to read fanfiction about the man who is about to be my husband,” she replied, laughing softly as they turned towards the river.

“I’m flattered,” Harry promised, kissing her cheek as she blushed. “Now let’s go see our dream home, hopefully.”

Lee was waiting for them outside the riverside apartment building, the ever impressive Battersea Power Station looming next door. The lobby was empty when Lee led them inside Scott House, using a key card to activate the elevator. He explained on the short ride to the 8th floor that the building was nearing completion and the first round of tenants were due to start moving in at the beginning of February. 

The elevator opened onto a pristine hallway; the colour scheme monochromatic which was very much to Auroras taste. Lee turned right out of the elevator, leading them to the apartment’s front door, once again using the key card to gain access. 

They entered into an entry hall that led straight into what Lee called the reception room, which flowed through to a kitchen/dining area. “This was originally designed to be 3 separate units, but they altered it to create one large 5 bedroom penthouse,” he explained as they entered. “There are 4 other units on this floor, but the sound proofing is state of the art, so you won’t be able to hear them. There’s a secondary entrance from the main hall into the apartment that leads directly into the kitchen so you can bypass the entry hall.” He pointed out the specific features of the kitchen and the enclosed patio that was marketed as a winter garden that ran the length of the apartment, looking out at the power station to their right and the river on the left. “Because it was originally three units,” Lee continued as he led them down a long hallway off the kitchen, “you get three parking spots in the underground garage.”

Aurora sensed Harry brightening at this, but her attention was focused on the 4 bedrooms, office space, study and utility room that Lee pointed out as they passed. Each bedroom had its own bathroom and built in robes with an additional walk-in situated in between them all. They returned back to the central kitchen via the winter garden, and Rori found herself falling in love with the property more and more with every step. In its unfinished state she was able to imagine the furniture she could buy to fill the space and the colours she would paint the walls, really making a home for herself and Harry.

“And now if we head back through the reception room,” Lee said as he directed them. “You have the master bedroom with the spacious walk-in and dressing room which lead through to the ensuite with a full size tub at one end and a twin shower head in the shower at the other end of the room. His and hers basins and marble tiling.”

“God damn,” Rori muttered as she looked around, picturing the décor she could add to bring out their personalities in the space. “H, I love it.”

“Me too,” Harry replied, equally impressed with the entire apartment.

“It’s not listed yet, so if you can organise the down payment, I’d say we can get it locked down within the next few weeks.”

“Let’s sit down and talk contracts,” Harry replied, watching as Aurora’s smile grew as they walked back out into the bedroom.

“How about you meet me at my office in the morning and we can go over all the specifics then?” Lee asked to which Harry agreed.

“You happy, love?” Harry asked, turning to see Rori standing out on the balcony leading off the master bedroom, looking towards the Power Station. She turned back to him, her face aglow with excitement.

“I can see us starting a family here Harry,” she replied, letting out a surprised squeal as Harry picked her up and held her tightly against him, kissing her cheek.

“Me too my love,” he replied. “Me too.”

xXx

They were lying in bed on a Tuesday evening in the beginning of December, Harry’s head resting in Rori’s lap as she sat against the headboard reading. She was finally able to start wearing her prosthetic again, so she was holding the book in her left hand, the fingers of her right tangled in Harry’s curls. His own hands traced patterns across her thighs, a comfortable silence stretching around them. That silence was shattered as Harry’s phone started ringing on the nightstand and Aurora barely looked up from her book as she passed it to him. His head was still resting in her lap as he answered the call and she felt him freeze against her, a soft gasp escaping his lips.

“We’re on our way,” he said softly, clambering off the bed before Rori could even get her bookmark in place. He started throwing on clothes as she asked him what was going on, and it was clear that he hadn’t heard her at all.

“HARRY!” she yelled, finally breaking through to him. He froze, turning to look at her, his eyes wide and haunted. “What’s happening? What’s wrong.”

“Jay,” was all he said, his voice barely more than a whisper and there was nothing else he needed to say as Rori felt her blood run cold, certain that the haunted look in Harry’s eyes was now echoed in hers. She didn’t say a word, but just as quickly got dressed and moved to pack an overnight bag for the both of them. They were out the door and in the car within minutes. They’d both known this was coming for a while, but everyone had been hoping that she’d make it past the holidays. It took them 3 hours to reach Doncaster, and neither spoke as Harry drove through the night. Aurora turned the radio off after the first pop song played, so at odds with the sombre mood inside the car that she couldn’t handle it.

It was well after midnight by the time they reached Doncaster and headed straight to the Deakin house. Harry texted Louis to let him know they were there, not expecting a reply and not receiving one, and they let themselves inside with the spare key. Despite the late hour neither Harry nor Aurora could think of sleeping and Aurora started tidying up the living room. By the time the sun rose, they’d cleaned most of the house and Harry had thrown together a casserole to put in the oven when everyone got home. They collapsed on the sofa; phones clenched in their hands as they waited to hear.

It was nearing lunchtime when they heard cars pull into the driveway and slow trudging footsteps reached the front door. Aurora was waiting with her arms open and Louis fell into them gladly, holding her tightly as he cried. Harry hugged a few of the girls before moving to Dan’s side and ushering them all into the living room. He busied himself making tea while Louis and Rori continued to cling to each other. No one spoke beyond quite murmurs of thanks and the young couple spent the day doing whatever they could to help, ensuring that the grieving family ate before turning in to bed later in the evening.

They left Doncaster Friday afternoon, driving back to London and leaving Louis with his family to be together before heading to Wembley the next day. They had assumed that Louis would be cancelling his appearance on X Factor, but he shocked both of them that morning when he announced he was going ahead with the show. They promised to be there and hugged everyone tightly before climbing into their car. Neither spoke on the drive south, both physically and emotionally exhausted by the past two days.

“I just spent the whole time we were there wanting to say something to help Lou, but I had no idea what to say,” Harry admitted once they dropped their overnight bags inside the entry hall of the house.

“There’s nothing you can say,” Aurora said, walking to his side to wrap him in a tight hug. “Not really. At least that’s how it felt when mum died. Anytime anyone told me it was going to be ok I just wanted to scream.”

“Did anything help?” Harry asked softly, his face buried in the crook of her neck.

“Ella stayed over at the hospital that first night. She didn’t say anything, but she just held me. Looking back now, that meant more than anything else. Just knowing that she was there and that I wasn’t alone. That’s what I’ve been trying to do for Lou and the girls, just make sure they feel that they’re not alone.”

“I hate that you ever had to go through that, but I’m glad he has someone that knows what it’s like,” Harry said. “Sorry that sounded really shitty.”

“No I get it,” Rori replied, “and I’m glad I can be there for him too.”

They trudged upstairs and collapsed into bed, neither having the energy or appetite to think about dinner and instead just cuddled up next to each other under the covers. They were silent for a while, both sitting in their own grief until Harry started shaking.

“I can’t help but think we’re going to do this again with Robin,” he sobbed.

“Oh Harry,” Rori sighed, holding him tightly as he cried into her chest. “You can’t think like that. Robin’s tough. He’s going to fight, and he’ll be ok. We deserve the win.”

“We thought that about Jay,” he pointed out.

“I know,” Aurora agreed. “I’m scared too but if I let myself think about it then it’s going to crush us Harry. We have to believe he’ll be ok because we don’t have any other option.”

xXx

They were backstage at Wembley, a little under an hour before the show was set to start and there were plenty of people rushing around getting everything ready. For the most part people were leaving them alone, aware of what had happened and thankfully giving them all space. The boys were all there, as were Lottie and Flic, however Dan and the rest of the kids had stayed back in Doncaster. Occasionally someone would come over to offer their sympathy, while Steve took care of all the technical problems in preparation for the performance. Louis had already gotten through the sound check earlier, mostly holding it together and now was just sitting quietly with his sisters, trying to prepare to go out in front of the sold out crowd, and live tv audience.

“Hey Rori, can we go for a walk?” Louis asked not long before he was needed on stage. She nodded, standing up immediately and following him out of the room. They walked the hallways of the backstage area with his arm around her shoulders and hers firmly around his waist. Aurora stayed quiet, knowing that Louis would let her know what he needed from her. “The night we met,” he finally said, “It was the AMAs, remember?”

“Yeah I remember,” she replied, her voice matching his near whisper.

“That was the first time you performed after your mum?”

“It was the first time on my own,” she explained. “I’d done a couple of smaller shows with the band but that was the first time on my own.”

“How did you do it?”

“It was different. I’d had a few years of missing her, so it wasn’t as fresh, but it was still really hard, especially since the song was about her. I know you’re really asking how you’re supposed to go out there tonight and I don’t really have an answer for that.”

“Yeah, I know, sorry. You’re just the only one I know who’s been where I am right now.”

“You never have to apologise to me Lou. I’ll help however I can because I wish I’d had someone who knew how it felt. But you have something I didn’t have; you’ve got your family and you’ll all get through this together. I guess the best advice I can give is that she loved watching you on stage. She really fucking loved it and she was so proud of you. So am I.” They both started crying and stopped walking to bury their face in the curve of each other’s necks. “I love you so much big brother,” Rori whispered. “We’re all here to help you and the girls through this. You’re not alone.”

“Love you too Rors. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” she whispered. “Now go out there and show the world our song.”

“Our song?” Louis scoffed, a small chuckle accompanying his words.

Aurora smiled in response and even though Louis knew exactly what she was doing, he appreciated her giving him shit like she always did. Just this little bit of normalcy helped him to believe that she was right and that it wouldn’t always hurt this much.

“Of course it’s our song,” she joked. “I helped you write the chorus when you stayed with me over summer. I expect my royalty cheques in the mail soon.”

“Not a chance love,” Louis laughed. “You can have the family discount off the merch though.”

“So kind of you.”

xXx

Harry stood behind Aurora as the song began, his arms wrapped tightly around her, his chest pressed firmly against her back and his chin resting on the crown of her head. She watched in awe as Louis jumped around the stage, tears streaming down her face as each line of the song hit like the lashes of a whip.

_The sun goes down and it comes back up  
_ _The world it turns no matter what_  
Oh-oh-oh, if it all goes wrong  
Darling, just hold on

Even though she’d been the one to help write them, Aurora felt as though every word was slicing at her heart. Like every word was a screaming plea for things to have ended differently. For her to still be here with them. For her to still be here with him.

As the lights came up and the crowd cheered, Aurora brushed aside her tears, taking deep calming breathes so that by the time Louis reached them she was ready to be the shoulder he needed to lean on.

xXx

They’d stayed out late with Louis, eventually calling it a night when Aurora could barely keep her eyes open any longer. They’d collapsed into bed as soon as they returned home in the early hours of the morning, exhausted both physically and mentally.

Harry stirred as the sun streamed in through the bedroom window, the angle disorientating until he realised that it was afternoon and they had slept away half the day. He also realised that the sun had not been what woke him as he watched Rori slip into a pair of jeans, struggling to do up the buttons one handed.

“Need a hand?” he mumbled, voice husky with sleep.

She jumped a little, startled by his question before she turned to him with a cheeky grin. “I do need a hand actually. I seem to have misplaced one of mine.”

Harry rolled his eyes at her joke and motioned her over to the side of the bed so that he could reach out and do up the buttons for her. “Why are you getting dressed? Come back to bed.”

“Gonna go see mum,” she replied, kissing his forehead before grabbing a sweater off the end of the bed and slipping it over her head. “Be back in a few hours.”

“You want company or is this something you gotta do alone?” he asked softly, sitting up and letting the sheets pool around his hips.

“It’s ok baby, go back to sleep.”

“That’s not what I asked,” Harry replied. “I’m coming with you unless you want to be alone.”

“I wouldn’t mind the company,” she answered, smiling softly as Harry climbed out of the bed and slipped into his own clothes, taking her hand before leading her out of the bedroom.

An hour later Harry parked near the Wimbledon Cemetery, rounding the car to hold open the passenger door for Aurora before taking her hand and walking by her side through the large wrought iron gates. They walked quietly past the older headstones until they reached the newer plots, following the familiar winding paths until the reached Louise Bennett’s headstone. The grass was damp beneath Rori’s knees as she sank to the ground, Harry’s hand resting comfortingly on her shoulder as she reached out to brush away the dry autumn leaves on the ground.

“Hi Mumma,” she whispered. “Sorry I haven’t been to visit for a while, it’s been a pretty wild year.”


	17. “A place where you’ll be safe to feel our grace”: March 2017

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Check out my tumblr for fake instagram posts and spotify playlists  
> https://abundanceofsoph.tumblr.com/post/626851540633796608/skyfire-2-the-indefinite-hiatus
> 
> Don’t forget to leave a comment :)

Harry and Aurora changed their plans, spending the holidays in Holmes Chapel with Anne, Robin and Robins children instead of flying to New York. Johannah’s funeral was held in between Christmas and New Years and both Harry and Aurora felt the need to stay close by in case Louis or his family needed anything. They returned to London in the first few weeks of 2017, meeting up with Jeff almost everyday to finalise the album and tour that were both fast approaching.

They received the keys to the Battersea apartment in the middle of the February, but both decided that while they would spend the rest of the month, and the first half of March, decorating and moving in their furniture. They wouldn’t officially move in and stay the night until their wedding day, March 26th. It had been Harry’s suggestion, wanting to make the few days following the wedding extra special before they returned to St Lucia for a weeklong honeymoon before the launch of his debut single on April 7th. Aurora had found the idea very romantic and enjoyed spending the time leading up to the big day painting feature walls and having furniture delivered. She also had her final fittings for her wedding dress, her excitement growing the closer she got to the last weekend of March.

In addition to setting up their new house, Aurora also found herself busy with another project after receiving an unexpected call from Mark in the first week of March.

“So, I’ve got some Scottish guy interested in _Leave a Light On_ ,” he said one afternoon when Aurora answered the phone. She put the phone on speaker as she continued painting a mural of vines and leaves on the feature wall in the dining room. 

“Ok…” she replied uncertainly. “Is there a problem with that because you don’t usually keep me in the loop on these things unless the persons problematic and you think I’ll say no to them.”

“I don’t think you’ll say no,” Mark said. “He’s pretty new on the scene, only just released his debut EP a few weeks ago.”

“Please get to the point Mark, I’m up to my elbows in wet paint.”

“He wants to meet with you and talk about changing lyrics.”

“Did you tell him that’s not really how this usually works?”

“I did. I told him the normal process is to just send through what he’s thinking, and you’d agree or decline but he’s insistent on meeting you. Said something about the song seeming too personal and he wanted to work with you on the changes. Pretty sure he’s a fan.”

“You said he’s released an EP; I’ll give it a listen and if I like his stuff, I’ll meet with him.”

She hung up the phone, returning to the mural for a few minutes but the conversation was bouncing around in her head, so she put down her brush and picked her phone back up. After opening Spotify, she typed in the name Mark had given her and pulled up the artist profile. Mark had been right; Tom Walker was relatively new on the music scene; there was only the 4 track EP and 3 other singles in his discography. She clicked on the first track of the EP, _Blessings_ , and returned to her painting as a simple beat filled the room, quickly accompanied by a raspy voice. Her head bopped to the beat, swaying to the melody as Tom sang about counting his blessings. She smiled softly as the song ended, then next providing more of his unique voice accompanied by a faster paced backing track. By the time she finished the 4th and final track of the EP, her paint brush was hanging limply in her hand, her eyes closed as she swayed to the music. She was a fan of his work and moved on to the 3 singles that hadn’t appeared on the EP. She also sent a text to Mark telling him to set up a meeting.

xXx

A week and a half after her phone call with Mark, she stepped into the Starbucks in south Hampstead, thankful that Mark had set up the meeting in a location close to Erskine and given the unusually good early spring weather, she had walked across the heath. She’d misjudged her timing and was 10 minutes late by the time she stepped into the chain coffee shop, instantly spotting Tom Walker sitting in the corner. She’d googled him the day before and he looked exactly like his photo, although she noted that his size was more intimidating in person as she stepped towards his table.

“Tom?” she asked, causing his head to snap up from his phone screen, a smile lighting up his face as he stood and offered his hand. She shook it. “So sorry I’m late. I thought I’d take advantage of the nice weather and walk here but it was a little further than I expected.”

“Not a problem,” he replied. “What are you drinking?”

He was already heading for the till to order. “Oh no,” Aurora protested. “You don’t have to.”

“Please,” he replied, “You and I both know that you didn’t have to agree to meet with me. Least I can do is buy your drink.”

“Ok. In that case I’ll just have a caramel latte please.”

After placing their order, he returned to the table, and Aurora found herself taking note that they seemed to be the only customers, not that she was all too surprised given that it was 10am on Wednesday and despite the touristy area, most people were out exploring the heath.

“Thank you again for this,” Tom said.

“Don’t mention it,” Rori smiled. “I listened to your EP and you intrigue me. Most people aren’t interested in having me help them change my songs.”

“Your manager mentioned that. Although I can’t really say I know what the usual procedure is for this since I’ve written all my own stuff until now.”

“So why are you picking up a demo?” Rori asked, genuinely curious.

“A mate had me listened to a stack of demos he was sent to help him pick out his next project and as soon as I heard your song it just hit me. Couldn’t get it out of my head.”

“But you want to change it?” Rori asked, smirking around the lip of her coffee mug.

“Just a bit,” he chuckled. “It’s pretty clear once you hit the second verse that you wrote it about gun violence and given everything you went through; I can’t imagine it was an easy song to give away.”

“Kind of the opposite actually,” Rori admitted. “It’s too personal for me to ever sing myself. Too emotional.” 

“I get that,” he nodded. “Until I got to that verse it got me really emotional thinking about the friends I’ve lost to overdoses and how I wish I could have provided them a safe place. That’s what I’d want the song to be about if you let me record it. But I didn’t want to just send you my track without the context and have you think I wanted to erase your message.”

“Thank you,” she said, swallowing against the lump in her throat. Is it just the second verse that you want to change?”

“Just the lines; _but if you carry on spiralling, they'll be robbed from us. I refuse to lose another friend to guns._ I was thinking of changing it to; _but if you carry on abusing, you'll be robbed from us. I refuse to lose another friend to drugs_.”

“I think I’d be ok with that,” Rori agreed.

“I’ve got the track on my phone if you wanted to give it a listen,” Tom offered, gesturing to where his phone sat on the table between them. Aurora smiled, rifling through her bag for her headphones and holding out the jack to him as she placed the ear buds in.

Tom’s voice filled her ears, accompanied by the familiar notes of her piano track. Strings entered the accompaniment and Aurora found herself surprised when the drop hit with a heavy drum and synth sound through the chorus. She smiled softly as she listened, her eyes closed. As the song began to drop away, only Tom’s voice and the piano petering out to the final notes, Aurora opened her eyes, taking in his nervous expression.

“Holy shit,” she muttered. “That’s bloody incredible, innit?”

“You like it?” he asked.

“Love it,” she corrected. “Think you’ve got a hit on your hands with that one.”

They sat there for another hour talking music and influences. Aurora found herself laughing more often than not and just enjoying his company. As lunch neared, people started to drift in and fill up the tables around them. Aurora knew it was only a matter of time until she was spotted and not wanting to deal with the fans, she decided it was time to leave.

“Do you have anywhere to be this afternoon?” Aurora asked Tom. “Because I’ve got the beginnings of a song, I think you’d suit perfectly. If you wanted to come back to my place, I could play it for you, and you might be able to help me finish it.”

“Aurora Stark wants to write a song with me?” Tom asked, somewhat confused by the offer. “You are aware that you’re pretty famous right?”

“Nah, I’m just a girl from Wimbledon,” Rori joked. “Besides, with my songs, you’ll be the famous one before long.”

“And you’re so humble,” Tom joked. “But seriously, I’d be bloody honoured to write with you.”

“Well then let’s go,” she said.

Tom drove as Rori provided directions and within 10 minutes they were parked and walking through the front door. “Please excuse the mess,” she said, gesturing to the boxes cluttering the front rooms of the house, “we’re in the process of moving house.”

Tom nodded, following her upstairs towards the studio Harry had set up for them.

“So, I only have the first verse, bridge and chorus,” Aurora explained as she took a seat at her piano. She stalled for another brief moment before finally biting the bullet and beginning to play.

_Let's just talk  
I'll pour my heart out through my mouth  
This year's been hard for us no doubt_

_Let's raise a glass to a better one  
And all the things that we've overcome  
And bring home to us 'cause  
Me and you we can hold this out  
Only you understand how I'm feeling now yeah_

_And I know, I can tell you anything  
You won't judge, you're just listening  
'Cause you're the best thing that ever happened to me_

_'Cause my darling, you and I could take over the world  
And one step at a time, just you and I  
'Cause you're the only one, who brings light just like the sun  
One step at a time, just you and I _

Tom smiled at her when she finished, easing the nervousness that had been boiling in her stomach. “What do you think?” she asked.

“What do I think?” Tom echoed, looking at her with a bright smile stretching across his face. “I think it’s bloody brilliant.”

“Well it’s not finished yet,” Rori reminded him, blushing slightly at his compliment.

“Maybe I can help with that,” he said. “You got this written down anywhere?”

Aurora nodded, grabbing a notebook off the top of the piano and flipping through it until she found the lyrics and a lose page of handwritten sheet music tucked in next to it. “Here,” she said, offering the sheet to him.

“Mind if I take this with me and mull it over for a bit and then maybe we could get together again to work on it?”

“I’d love that,” Aurora admitted, returning his excited grin. “The piano is actually getting moved to our new place on Wednesday, but if you’re free later in the week we could have a writing sesh?” Aurora suggested.

“Perfect,” he said.

They chatted for a little longer, making plans to get together later in the week and then Rori walked Tom out to his car, hugging him goodbye before heading back inside to finish packing the last of the things that would make the move over to the new apartment. The majority of the furniture was staying behind, as were some of the pieces of art on the walls but otherwise all of their personal items were going with them. The plan was for everything left behind to be just what was needed for family to stay for the wedding and then they would start looking into renting the property out.

Harry arrived home about an hour after Tom left and helped her fill the Land Rover with another load of boxes before they drove it over to Battersea. On the drive and while they ferried boxes into the apartment Aurora filled Harry in on her meeting with Tom and their plans to write together later in the week.

“So, you like him?” Harry asked as they unpacked a few of the boxes in the kitchen. 

“He’s a lovely guy,” Aurora replied, “and bloody talented. Did you listen to the EP I sent you?”

“I did,” Harry replied. “He’s got a great voice. Loved the lyrics in _Rapture_.”

“Right? I gave him a song I’ve half started, and I can’t wait to see what he does with it.”

Harry smiled at her enthusiasm. “What day is he coming over to work? I’ll make sure I’m out of your hair.”

“Thursday,” Rori replied. “You could join us if you want.”

“This is your thing love,” Harry said, kissing the top of her head. “But I’ll be your first listener when you’re done though.”

“Always,” Rori agreed with a soft smile of her own. “Now more importantly,” she continued, changing the subject abruptly and causing Harry to chuckled. “I can’t be arsed cooking so what do you say to pizza for dinner?”

xXx

Tom was coming over in the afternoon, so Aurora spent Thursday morning working on one of the murals in the guest rooms. So far, she had completed one in the dining room and master suite while 2 of the 3 guest rooms were half completed. While Aurora had spent the majority of the last month painting the walls, buying furniture and moving their belongings over from Erskine, Harry had focused on putting together the music studio for them both in the largest of the bedrooms at the end of the hall. After the sound proofing had been completed, the last step had been to move the piano over the previous day and now he was turning his attention to setting up desks in their home office.

They ate a quick lunch together and then Harry left to return to Erskine House to meet with Becca who was having the chairs and tables for the reception dinner delivered. They had brought over the last of their things that morning, save the clothes and toiletries they would need for the rest of the week, leaving the house feeling rather empty. Aurora was excited to be finally moving into the apartment in a few days and even more excited to be doing so as husband and wife. After Harry left, Aurora returned to the guest room she’d been painting and ensured that she’d closed all of her paint tins and washed her brushes before Tom text to let her know that he was downstairs in the lobby. She buzzed him through from the app on her phone and headed back towards the dining room to meet him at the front door once he exited the lift.

“Found the place ok?” she asked as he hugged her in the doorway.

“It’s gorgeous,” he said, following her as she stepped back into the apartment and gave him a quick tour of the main rooms before heading into the studio. “Did you want the wall art?”

“I did,” she replied with a proud smile. “Haven’t had a lot of time to paint recently with all the album work and the holidays so it’s been fun to have a project to work on.”

“They’re incredible,” Tom complimented. “Is there anything you can’t do?”

“Basic maths,” she laughed, “much to my dad’s dismay.”

They settled into the studio, with Aurora at the piano while Tom flipped through the notebook he’d brought with him. “I had a bit of a play around with that song you gave me on Monday,” he explained. “Wanna play it from the top and I’ll show you what I’ve got?”

“Sure thing,” Rori agreed. “Just head back into the verse after the chorus?”

“Yeah, and then pre-chorus, chorus, 3rd verse straight into the chorus for a final time.”

“You got it,” Aurora nodded before she began the simple melody, smiling as Tom started signing. He’d changed the opening line of the song but left the rest of her verse, pre-chorus and chorus unedited, his voice lending a quality to the song that she loved. For her the song, like so many that she wrote, revolved around Harry and with the wedding only days away, romance had been leaking into every aspect of her waking days. She wasn’t sure what she expected from Tom’s lyrics, but she found herself loving the way his own relationship blended with hers and Harry’s to create a complete story of love over time. While the first verse spoke of the challenges she had faced by his side since the shooting and the end of the band, Tom’s 2nd and 3rd verses weaved the story of reminiscing over the early days of love.

_Let's get drunk  
Reminisce about the days  
We were broke, not getting paid  
And taking trips on the weekend  
When I would drive down to see ya  
And we would paint the town  
Too many shots, I'll be passing out  
'Cause I can never keep up  
Quad vods, now I'm puking up_

_I know I can tell you anything  
You won't judge, you're just listening, yeah  
'Cause you're the best thing that ever happened to me  
  
'Cause my darling, you and I  
Could take over the world  
One step at a time  
Just you and I   
'Cause you're the only one  
Who brings light just like the sun  
One step at a time  
Just you and I   
  
Tired of chasing paper  
Staring at this screen  
Been saving up for weeks now  
Just to get to you, my dear  
And though you're far from my home  
This ain't no weekend bar  
Oh, my heart grows fonder  
Must be city love_

They finished with a final repetition of the chorus and were both grinning at each other by the end, recognising immediately how great the song sounded. The tinkered with the arrangement for a while, discussing which instruments would sound best for the final track. Tom also played a few other tracks he was working on, asking Aurora for feedback and advice which she happily provided. They worked for most of the afternoon, finally calling it a day as dinnertime neared and Harry text to ask Aurora what time he could expect her as he was planning when to start cooking.

“I don’t have much on next week if you wanted to get together and write some more,” Tom said as he grabbed his things and got ready to leave.

“I’m actually busy next week,” Rori replied. “For the next few weeks actually.”

“Oh? What are you up to?”

“I’m getting married on Sunday,” Rori replied, “and then we’re heading to the Caribbean for a week for our honeymoon.”

“Oh of course,” Tom laughed. “The wedding of the century. It’s been the talk of the gossip blogs for weeks.”

“You read the gossip blogs?” Aurora ask, echoing his laugh.

“My sister does,” he blushed. “She likes to keep me informed. Think I’m the only one that will let her talk my ear off about it all. Thought she was going to pass out when I told her I was working with you.”

“Well tell her I said hi,” Rori said. “Maybe we could get together when I get back in a few weeks though. Harry’s album is coming out in early May, but we should be able to work something out around the promo.”

“Absolutely, just text me your schedule and I’ll fit around it.”

xXx

All of their family and bridal party began arriving at Erskine House on Saturday afternoon for the rehearsal dinner, which was a relaxed evening filled with laughter and embarrassing stories. Aurora had never really understood bridezillas; she didn’t feel the need to get so stressed out about ensuring everything was perfect, instead wanting to be able to enjoy the day with Harry and their friends and family. Their wedding planner, Becca, had taken care of all the little details and would be on hand the next day to coordinate and ensure nothing went wrong, allowing Harry and Aurora to simply enjoy it all.

The back garden was beautifully decorated, with fairy lights strung up above the tables and the temporary dancefloor. The table settings were all soft cream and navy, matching in with the bridesmaid’s dresses. The weather was clear and while not hot, it also wasn’t too cold for an outdoor dinner and there was thankfully no sign of rain on the forecast.

Neither Aurora nor Harry felt the need to fall on classic traditions and had decided to take a more modern approach to their wedding. They’d begun skirting tradition by having the combined bachelor/bachelorette trip back in November and continued by deciding that it was unnecessary to spend the night before the wedding apart given that they had been living together for most of their relationship, with the exception of when Harry had been on tour or off filming Dunkirk. After dinner, the bridal party and the couple’s parents stayed in the many guest rooms while the rest of the Avengers headed to a nearby hotel for the night.

They laid in bed late at night, wrapped up in each other’s arms. “I’m so excited for tomorrow,” Aurora whispered into the darkness, her head cushioned against Harry’s chest.

“Me too,” he replied. “Can’t believe you’re finally going to be my wife.”

“And you’ll be my husband,” she added. “I love you, Harry.”

“I love you too,” he murmured. “More than I could ever explain.”


	18. Mr & Mrs Styles: March 26th 2017

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's finally here! It's time for a wedding
> 
> Check out my tumblr for fake instagram posts and spotify playlists  
> https://abundanceofsoph.tumblr.com/post/626851540633796608/skyfire-2-the-indefinite-hiatus
> 
> Don’t forget to leave a comment :) and if there's anything specific from the solo era that you want included in this story let me know! I wasn't a fan before Fine Line so if there's a specific interview please pop it in the comments because I don't intend to cover everything and i will be messing with timelines a little

Aurora closed her eyes as her head rested on Harry’s shoulder and they danced to the music softly filling the garden. His arms were wrapped around her waist, her own around his neck while they swayed, the fairy lights strung above them casting a soft glow over the scene as Harry slowly spun them around on the makeshift dance floor at the end of the garden. She smiled softly as he placed kisses to her temple and hummed along with the song playing. It was late, nearing time for them to leave but they continued dancing. “Just one more song”, she’d mumbled several songs ago. Behind her closed lids, the day replayed itself. 

xXx

She had woken up cocooned in Harry’s arms, his warm breath ghosting across the back of her neck as he left soft kisses across the expanse of her back. She turned in his arms to face him, their noses rubbing against each other causing Rori to let out a quiet giggle.

“How are your feet?” Harry murmured, his voice quiet and gravelly, the early morning light peeking through the curtains and falling over his face.

“Toasty warm,” Rori replied, tilting her face to kiss him. “What about you? No cold feet?”

“None whatsoever,” he replied, kissing her again. “Can’t wait to be your husband in a few hours.”

They stayed wrapped around each other, kissing slowly and laughing together until they were interrupted. Louis banged on the door loudly before shouting. “Put it back in your pants Harold and get your butts downstairs.”

They both burst into laughter in response, neither making any move to leave their bed.

“I mean it you two,” Louis continued after a few minutes. “I won’t hesitate to come in there and drag you out.”

“Alright Lou,” Harry yelled. “We’ll be down in a minute.”

They reluctantly rolled out of bed, Harry throwing on a pair of joggers and an old t-shirt while Aurora slipped into the silk robe Ella had gifted her with _Mrs Styles_ screen-printed across the back in glittery gold script. Harry helped her tie it closed with the sash at her waist, before threading his fingers through hers and leading her out the door and down the stairs. Once they reached the kitchen, they found their bridal party and their parents all crowded around the dining table, a large spread of breakfast foods filling every surface courtesy of Anne. Louis grinned at them unapologetically from his seat, earning a finger from Harry and shake of the head from Aurora.

After eating, the girls had made their way upstairs to begin their hair and makeup, while the boys remained downstairs with Anne, Robin, Tony and Steve, not needing to start getting ready for at least another few hours. Harry and Louis slipped from the house, promising to be back with plenty of time. They returned two hours later, and Harry jumped in the shower while Anne tried to get Louis to admit to where they had both snuck off to. He’d refused to tell, only smirking and offering her a wink before he headed down the hall to join Niall and Liam to start getting ready.

The photographer arrived once the boys were dressed and ready, sitting around the living room waiting on the girls. Tony, Steve and Robin joined the younger men, while Anne headed upstairs to see how the bride and her bridesmaids were doing. While they waited the photographer took the boys outside to take some photos of the four of them together, Harry’s deep blue Gucci suit popping against the soft grey of Louis, Niall and Liam’s suits, their dress shirts and bowties the same navy as the girl’s dresses. Gemma was the first one to join them outside, swapping places with Louis to take photos with Harry and his two groomsmen.

“Can we get one of just the Groom and his Best Woman?” the photographer asked after a while. Ella and Lottie ambled out to the garden shortly after, leaving only Anne and Rori inside.

“She looks incredible,” Ella told Harry.

“Wouldn’t doubt that for a moment,” Harry replied with a massive grin, his excitement clear to everyone.

Anne finally joined them, prompting the photographer to direct Harry to a place in the garden for the first look photo. The only real tradition that the couple had kept was that Harry had no idea what style dress Aurora had decided on, wanting it to be a surprise, and they had wanted to capture the moment he first saw her with just their family and bridal party present. Harry turned his back to the house, watching the reactions of the boys and Rori’s parents as they watched her stepped out into the garden, their faces all causing him to want to turn around, but he waited, vibrating with anxiety until the photographer signalled him to turn around.

His breath caught in his throat when he finally was allowed in turn around and caught sight of his beautiful bride. He felt his eyes begin to tear as he took her in, his smile growing impossibly wider. She was stunning, her long dark hair braided up into in intricate bun, a few tendrils hanging lose to frame her face and disguise the transmitting device behind her left ear. Her dress was perfect, the bodice made of delicate lace with a plunging neckline, flaring into a full skirt that brushed the tops of her shoes. A soft vail fell from the crown of her head, draping across her shoulders and along her bare arms. Her left arm ended in a new prosthetic that Tony had given her the day before, similar to her usual, however the glaring difference was that unlike her daily prosthetic which was made of a lightweight metal alloy that looked like Bucky’s full arm prosthetic, Tony had coated this new one in a silicone based material that mimicked Aurora’s natural skin tone. It was still clear to anyone looking that it was a prosthetic, but it created a softer look, no longer juxtaposing with the softness of the white dress, but instead complimenting it. Aurora had no intention of ever hiding her disability, but she had been overwhelmed when Tony had showed it to her the previous day and was beyond grateful for the touching gesture.

Her own eyes began to mist with tears as she watched Harry’s eyes take her in. He had tears running down his cheeks and she stepped forward to sweep them away with the pad of her thumb as she cupped his cheek.

“You look so beautiful,” he told her, still grinning as they stared into each other eyes.

“Thank you,” Rori whispered back, her own cheeks hurting from the wide smile on her face. “You look very handsome too.”

Harry swept her into a tight hug, the faint sound of the camera’s shutter audible as they held each other.

Once they pulled apart, Aurora posed for photos with her bridesmaids and Louis, and then with her fathers. Harry had some photos taken with Anne and Robin and then with Gemma joining them before they prepared to leave for the venue. Harry, Gemma, Niall and Liam climbed into one of the waiting cars and leaving first with Anne and Robin following behind them and then Louis, Lottie and Ella joined Aurora, Tony and Steve in the limousine shortly after and headed down the road towards the Hill Garden Pergola where the guests had already arrived and were making their way to their seats. 

xXx

Aurora smiled brightly as she waited for her moment. Louis, Lottie, Ella, Anne and Steve all waited with her just out of sight of the waiting guests as Harry, Gemma, Niall and Liam stepped into place at the altar. Soft music and the fragrance of the blooming gardens filled the air, the sun shinning through the open roof, the trellises wrapped in vibrant green vines. Steve offered Anne his arm and they lead the procession down the aisle, followed by Ella and Lottie until only Louis remained standing next to Aurora and Tony.

“See you down there little sis,” he whispered with a cheeky grin before walking away.

Aurora took one last steadying breath and then the music morphed into the traditional wedding march and she set off around the corner with her father by her side. 

Most people would be forgiven for expecting the wedding of Harry Styles and the heiress to the Stark family fortune to be opulent and somewhat over the top. To the contrary, the springtime ceremony was simple and the guest list much smaller than one would have anticipated with only 50 of their friends and family in attendance. Aurora glided past them, her eyes locked on Harry’s, smiling knowingly as she watched him fight back the urge to cry again at the sight of her. She barely looked away from him as Tony kissed her cheek and took his seat next to Steve in the front row. She handed her bouquet off to Ella and smiled at Louis by her side.

The ceremony passed by in a blur, her attention so completely focused on Harry that she barely payed attention to the minister. She repeated her vows and teared up as Harry repeated his and they both slipped wedding bands onto each other’s right hands, with Harry having decided to echo Rori’s inability to wear hers on her non-existent left hand.

Before she was really aware of it, their minister was announcing that Harry could now kiss his bride and he reached forward, cupping her face in both of his large hands and brought their lips together in a searing and passionate kiss. There were tears in both of their eyes and grins stretching across their faces as they pulled apart and turned to face the audience. Louis was the first to pull them both into hugs, quickly followed by Gemma and then Anne was in front of them, her own eyes glassy. They were handed from one set of arms to another, their hands never leaving each other’s. 

xXx

Following the ceremony, the guests headed off in the direction of the house which was only a few minutes’ drive away, while the newlyweds, their families and bridal party made their way out into the rest of the gardens for more photos. They left the Hill Garden, crossing Spaniards road and heading into the Heath. They were wandering along the path towards an area that Rori had shown to their photographer a few weeks earlier when they had been planning out the kinds of photos she wanted. Their parents, the groomsmen and bridesmaids walked ahead of them, chatting away and allowing Aurora and Harry a moment together before they would head back to Erskine house for the reception dinner and a long evening of socialising.

“Remember walking along here on our first date?” Harry asked, his arm wrapped tightly around her waist.

“Of course,” Rori smiled, “You asked me to be your girlfriend just over there.”

They both looked off over to a beautiful area of the Heath where flowers were now blooming, remembering the cold winter day 3 years ago when they had wandered through the sprinkling of snow and Harry had shyly asked Aurora to join him and the boys on tour while she was on her summer break from college. Back then the scene surrounding them had been coated in a fine layer of powdery white snow, but now the only white was that of Auroras dress. They didn’t need to walk very much further before they reached the beautiful garden beds and wrought iron park benches that were their destination and their photographer immediately started organizing different configurations of people. First just Rori and Harry, then they were joined by Louis and the bridesmaids, then Gemma and the groomsmen, then the entire bridal party, and then each set of parents. Harry also got photos of just himself with Anne and Robin, while Aurora took photos sandwiched between Steve and Tony. Eventually they had everything they needed and headed off towards the house on the edge of the Heath nearby.

xXx

After being introduced to the waiting crowd of guests as Mr and Mrs Styles, Harry had led Aurora out onto the dancefloor, under the canopy of twinkling lights, the sun setting on the horizon as they shared their first dance as husband and wife. Their audience completely disappeared as they stared at each other, turning slowly across the dancefloor, matching smiles lighting up their faces as the sky turned dark. Harry dipped his head to press his lips to his wife’s, a small chuckle leaving them both as their friends cheered and hollered. As the song came to an end, Steve walked over to them, clapping Harry on the shoulder as he handed off Aurora for the father daughter dance. Since Tony had walked her down the aisle, Rori had proposed that Steve get the first half of the song before Tony took over and the two many had happily agreed.

She tilted her head back to stare up at Steve, smiling brighter as she took in his glassy eyes. “Happy tears Pops?” she whispered.

“Proud tears,” he replied. “Very proud tears. I love you so much bug.”

“I love you too,” she whispered, leaning her cheek against his chest and closing her eyes as they turned. “So glad I got to be your daughter.” After a few minutes, Tony swapped places with his husband and Harry lead Anne out to join them. Slowly other pairings joined them, and Aurora was laughing loudly as Tony swirled her around the other dancers.

xXx

Aurora barely spent a moment off the dancefloor over the course of the night. She was only in her seat long enough for dinner and then the speeches, both Anne and Tony saying a few words while Gemma and Louis shared embarrassing stories and had their audience in fits of laughter.

After cutting the cake, Aurora made her way over to where Ella’s mum, Bek was sitting with Helen and Greg. “Aurora,” Helen said when she reached them. “You look so beautiful my darling.”

“Thank you,” Rori blushed, allowing Helen to hug her tightly before handing her off to Greg’s embrace. “Are you all having a good time?”

“You planned a perfect day,” Greg answered. “Where’s Harry?”

Aurora turned to scan the groups of people scattered around the garden until her eyes fell on Harry sitting with Nick Grimshaw and James Corden. “Drinking with some of our friends,” she replied, returning her attention back to her unofficial family. “I’m so glad you three are here,” she told them. She had been thinking of her mother more than usual over the past few days, the familiar sense of loss hanging in the air between them.

“Louise would be so proud of you, Aurora,” Bek said. “I know she’s looking down on you today.” Aurora didn’t know what to say in reply as she fought back the tears she felt growing behind her eyes and threatening to spill down her cheeks. “And we all know she would have loved Harry,” Bek continued, attempting to lighten the mood as she hugged Rori gently.

“She would have, wouldn’t she?” Rori chuckled thickly. “He was always her favourite.”

“She just didn’t understand how you girls could like Liam and Niall better when he had those dimples,” Bek laughed.

“Harry doesn’t understand it either,” Rori laughed, slowly drawing herself out of her sadness.

“You told him he wasn’t your favourite?” Greg gasped.

“The night we met,” Rori laughed. She smiled, thinking back to the AMAs afterparty where they had sat against the wall on the edge of the party, their heads bent towards each other as they got to know each other. “I was so nervous around him and I just couldn’t work out why someone like him was talking to me.” Helen and Bek smiled softly back at her and based on the looks on their faces, Aurora was surprised they didn’t let out matching ‘awwws’. “And then Lou came over, drunk as anything, and told me Harry had a crush on me and 3 and a half years later here we are.”

Anne and Robin made their way over to the little group a little while later, and while Anne struck up a conversation with Helen, Greg and Bek, Aurora asked Robin for a dance and let her new father-in-law lead her out onto the dancefloor. They didn’t really dance, but instead just swayed back on forth in one spot. Robin was smiling happily, but the lines of exhaustion were clear on his face.

“I’m glad I got to see today,” he whispered as Aurora lent her head on his shoulder, their arms wrapped around each other. “Was worried I wouldn’t, but I’m so happy I got to be here. You’re the perfect addition to this family Rori.”

“Glad you got to be here too,” Rori replied, her voice cracking with emotion and a few stray tears escaping and running down her cheeks before she quickly wiped them away. “Thank you, Robin.”

“What for love?” he asked softly.

“For everything,” Rori murmured, barely holding back a sob but feeling the pressure of the ever ticking clock and the need to say what was on her mind. “From the first day I met you, you were so welcoming to me and I just needed you to know how thankful I am that I’ve had you in my life these past few years. I’m so lucky to be able to call you and Anne my family.”

“Of course,” he replied, “You know we feel the same way. I know I’m leaving them in good hands with you and your family.”

“Robin,” Aurora choked, her head finally snapping up from Robins shoulder to stare at him, a heartbroken expression on her face.

“I know,” Robin sighed. “Sorry, no more of that talk. Only happy talk and celebrating you and Harry tonight.”

Rori returned her head to his shoulder, the pair falling silent as they swayed until the song came to an end and Aurora, sensing how tired he was becoming, led Robin back to the table to sit down next to Anne. She was only able to snatch a few moments with her mother-in-law before she was once again being stollen away and pulled back towards the dance floor, this time by Clint.

“Was worried I was never gonna get a moment with you, Miss popularity,” he chuckled as he spun her, and she let out a happy giggle as the skirt of her dress flared out around her.

“It’s actually Mrs. Popularity now,” she snarked. “Not sure if you noticed, but I got married today.”

“You did?” Clint gasped sarcastically. “Wow, I wish someone had told me. In all seriousness, I’m happy for you little one. You deserve this.”

“Thanks Clint.”

As the song ended, it was Harry who appeared at Clint’s shoulder. “Mind if I steal my wife back?” he asked.

“Of course,” Clint replied, handing her off to Harry before disappearing off the dance floor.

“Having fun?” Rori asked as she wrapped her arms around his neck and his hands found purchase on her hips.

“I am,” Harry smiled. “Are you?”

“This has been the perfect day.”

“Good. That’s all I needed to hear.”

“Still seems so crazy that I get to call you my husband for the rest of our lives.”

“I’m the luckiest man alive.”

“Flattery will get you everywhere Mr Styles.”

They kissed deeply as they swayed, content in their own little bubble, completely oblivious of anything happening around them.

xXx

Sometime later in the evening Harry had returned to chatting with his friends, however most of his attention was on his beautiful bride as she danced with her friends. Louis was often at her side, their matching grins causing Harry to smirk, always enamoured by their friendship. Every time a throwback song played out Aurora would scream, finding Ella or Gemma amongst the crowd and they would run towards each other gleefully. Every so often, Harry would steal her away from her friends to take his turn for a song or two before returning her to them. As the night wore on, people slowly headed off after giving their well wishes to the newlyweds until only the bridal party, the Avengers and their parents were left.

Aurora dragged Harry back onto the dancefloor one last time before they left for their Battersea apartment, while everyone left in the garden with them would be staying at the house.

“Ready to go now Mrs Styles,” Harry whispered, his lips brushing across her temple with every word.

“Let’s go home,” Rori agreed. She allowed Harry to thread their fingers together and led them around the small group for hugs goodbye. He then led her outside to their waiting car.

xXx

Rori let out a squeal on their doorstep as Harry unlocked the door and immediately swept her off her feet and into his arms. He carried her into their home, her laughter filling the entry hall as he headed towards their bedroom. Aurora’s laughter died on her lips as she stared around the room in awe. There were rose petals scattered across the white duvet on the bed, a bouquet in a vase on one of the bedside tables, while every available surface was covered by candles.

“How?” she gasped. “How on earth did you manage this? When did you manage this?”

Harry lowered her to her feet, his hands moving to cup her face, bringing their lips together. The kiss was slow and languid. He lent their foreheads against each other as the pulled apart. “This morning,” he answered. “While you and the girls were upstairs getting ready, Lou and I snuck off to set it all up. Thought mum was gonna pitch a fit when we wouldn’t say where we were going.”

“I can just imagine Anne’s reaction,” Rori whispered, smiling brightly at her husband.

“Had to use LED candles but I think the effect still works,” he said with a smirk.

“Very much,” she agreed, her hands moving the buttons of his shirt.

Harry slipped his jacket and shirt off his shoulders once she reached the final button and moved to help her out of her dress. Her lips returned to his once she was naked in front of him and he slipped out of his trousers before pulling her onto the bed.

xXx

They spent the majority of the day after the wedding in bed, Aurora heading to the kitchen at one point to throw together something for lunch before returning to her husbands embrace. They finally climbed out from the rumpled sheets in the early evening and showered together before getting dressed and heading down to the garage.

The traffic was heavy as they headed out of the city centre which wasn’t altogether unexpected given that it was peak hour on a Monday, but they were both still too caught up in their newlywed bubble to let it get them down. Instead, Aurora queued up a few songs that she knew would get a laugh out of Harry and turned the volume up loud as the inched their way south towards Wimbledon. He started chuckling as _What Makes You Beautiful_ started playing and Aurora burst out laughing as he rolled his eyes at her. She expected him to skip the song but was grinning widely when he started singing. She joined him and they both screamed along as the car slowly moved down the road. Eventually they reached Wimbledon and made their way towards the Golden Stag, which Helen and Greg had closed for the evening. Given that Harry’s debut single would be dropping they day after they returned from their honeymoon, Aurora knew that they would be busy with work leading up to the Album launch next month. Because of this she had suggested their families get together for dinner before they flew to St Lucia the following day. Tony, Steve, Anne and Robin were there, as were Helen and Greg, of course, with Ella and Bek. Louis and Niall had also showed up, while Liam had returned home to be with Cheryl and Bear. Gemma and Peter rounded out the group and they all jumped up from their seats to hug the newlyweds once they arrived.

It was the perfect evening with the people most important to them and both Aurora and Harry were a little sad to say goodnight before climbing back into their car and driving home. Before they turned in to bed, Rori took one last look over their luggage to double check that they had everything ready for their flight in the morning and their passports were at the top of their carry on. By the time she stripped out of her clothes and brushed her teeth, Harry was already waiting for her under the covers and she happily crawled into his waiting arms.


	19. The Honeymoon: April 2017

The afternoon sun warmed the air as Aurora laid on her back on the beach, a soft breeze blowing in off the water cooling her slightly, the thatched umbrella above her providing some shade. Her eyes were closed behind the sunglasses perched on her nose, her hair fanning out around her head, a yellow bikini covering her and a layer of sweat clinging to her exposed skin. She heard Harry approach, his footsteps shifting the sand and then she felt the water drops falling on her as he stood above her. She cracked open one eye to look up at her husband, a cheeky smirk pulling at his lips as his hair fell over his forehead and he looked down at her laid out on her towel.

“Your getting water all over me,” she muttered.

“Thought you liked when I got you wet,” he replied. He laughed as she blushed. “Don’t get shy on me now.”

“Get your mind out of the gutter, Harold.”

“Come join me in the water,” he said, ignoring her reproach.

“But I’m so comfy,” Rori replied a small pout on her lips. She let out a loud squeal as Harry suddenly bent forward, scooping her into his arms and carry her down towards the waters edge. “Harry!” she yelled, laughter bubbling in her throat as he raced into the ocean, dunking them both under the surface.

Rori gasped as they resurfaced, water running down her face as her sunglasses sat askew, her hair plastered to her back. Harry was grinning widely as he held her against his chest and silenced her objections by kissing her deeply. Her arms moved to wrap around his neck, her legs around his waist as he deepened the kiss, the Caribbean sun beating down on both of them.

“I can’t believe you just dunked me in the water like a frat boy trying to flirt at a spring break party,” she said once they pulled apart.

“Gosh only been married 3 days and you already don’t wanna spend time with me,” Harry joked. “I feel so unloved.”

“Well I wouldn’t want you feeling unloved,” Rori replied as she tightened her arms around his shoulders and leaned back in to kiss him again. They pulled apart with a laugh when Harry’s stomach rumbled. “How about dinner?” she asked. Harry nodded and began to move them back towards the beach, not allowing her to unwrap herself from his torso. He carried her across the sand, stooping to allow her to pick up her abandoned towel and then continued up towards their little beach front cottage. 

Harry finally set Aurora back on her feet once he’d walked through the front door and she headed for the kitchen and started digging through the fridge to throw together something for dinner. “Let me,” Harry said, nudging her aside and pulling items out that he would need. “Pour yourself a drink and put your feet up.”

“Careful now,” Rori chuckled as she did as he suggested, “I might get used to this.”

“Oh, like I don’t cook most nights when we’re home.”

“Ok fair,” Rori laughed. “Maybe we should go into town tomorrow and let someone else do the cooking.”

“I like the sound of that,” Harry agreed while he chopped up veggies for a quick stir-fry.

“I was thinking it might be nice to hike up into the jungle a bit tomorrow,” Rori said as she sipped on her drink and watched him move around the kitchen.

“Maybe we could hike later in the week,” Harry replied. “I’ve got a surprise for you tomorrow, but we could definitely go out for dinner after.”

“You know I hate surprises,” Rori said, glaring half-heartedly at him. “What are we doing?”

“Nope, not telling,” Harry grinned. “Just know that you’ll love it. Now instead of badgering me about it, why don’t you go shower and I’ll call you when this is ready.”

“You know I’m sure dinner could wait if you wanted to come join me for that shower,” Rori replied with a grin over her shoulder as she sauntered off towards the bedroom.

“Yeah I’m not that hungry anyway,” Harry said in a rush, already following after her.

xXx

Aurora woke up to Harry packing a backpack by the foot of the bed, the curtains fluttering in a cooling breeze blowing in through the doors leading out onto a patio.

“What are you doing?” she mumbled. She chuckled as her shirtless husband jumped in response to her question.

“Jesus,” he gasped. “You scared the crap out of me, love.”

“Didn’t answer the question, H,” she laughed.

“I’m packing a few things for our surprise,” he said. “Now time to get up and dressed.”

“Yes, Sir,” Rori replied. “Since I don’t know where we’re going, what would you suggest I wear?”

“Bikini under something comfortable,” Harry replied, already throwing her black bikini bottoms at her. She decided on a pair of high waisted denim shorts and peach coloured t-shirt, while harry pulled on a pair of white shorts and a button up Hawaiian shirt.

“Do I need both hands for this surprise?” she asked, gesturing to her prosthetic which she had yet to remove from her suitcase since their arrival days ago.

“Nope,” Harry replied, grinning widely at her growing frustration at his evasive answers. She continued to question where they were going as they climbed into their rental car and he drove them away from the cottage, following the shoreline to a nearby resort. He refused to answer, instead chuckling and leading her down towards the marina and onto a small boat. Aurora smiled brightly as Harry helped her into the boat and then took to the helm to guide them out of the harbour. Rori stepped up behind him, wrapping her arms around his waist as they headed onto into calmer waters and followed the coastline.

“You said you wanted to see more of the island since we didn’t really leave the beach much last time we we’re here,” Harry explained. “Thought this could be a fun way to see it.”

“It’s perfect,” Aurora murmured, kissing his shoulder blade before pressing her cheek against his back and watching the water pass by beneath them. “I love you.”

After following the coast for a few hours, Harry anchored the small vessel and then pulled his phone out of pocket to take a photo of his unsuspecting wife. She was standing at the prow of the boat looking at the shore ahead of them in only her denim shorts and bikini top, having taken off her shirt shortly after they had set sail. Her dark hair cascaded down her back and Harry didn’t think he would ever meet anyone more beautiful than her. After taking the photo, he slipped his phone back into his pocket and walked over the join her, resting his hands on her hips and kissing the top of her shoulder.

“Feel like jumping in for a swim?” he asked. Aurora nodded and quickly slipped out of her shorts before diving into the cool, clear water. Harry pulled off his shirt and dived in after her. They swam around the boat for a while before climbing back aboard and pulling out the picnic lunch Harry had packed. Rori giggled when she found a touristy looking captains’ hat towards the back of the boat, presumably left by the previous user of the boat. She returned to Harry’s side with it tucked behind her back before quickly slipping it onto his head and falling into a fit of giggles. He pouted at her for a brief moment before his lips starting twitching and he also started laughing at how ridiculous it was.

Aurora laid out on the deck after they finished lunch, her eyes closed, and her arms spread wide as she basked in the bright sunshine. Harry jumped back in the water and swam around for a bit before Aurora joined him in the water to cool off. Eventually Harry hauled the anchor back on board and headed back to the marina. They returned to the cottage to shower and change and then headed towards one of the nearby towns for dinner.

xXx

The next morning, Rori awoke to texts from Mark and Ella.

**◊Mark: Heads up, a fan took a photo of you both at dinner last night and tweeted it so just be aware that the entire world now knows you’re on St Lucia.**

**◊Ella: TMZ reported on your honeymoon being in St Lucia. I know you were going to wait till you got back to post some pics on Instagram but no need to wait now. SHOW ME HOW AMAZING IT IS!**

**◊Ella: P.S I love you and I miss you. Coffee catch up when you’re home.**

Aurora rolled her eyes, groaning in frustration that they couldn’t even enjoy some privacy on their honeymoon.

“What’s wrong?” Harry muttered; his face still half buried in his pillow.

“Someone took a picture of us at dinner last night and TMZ is running the story.”

“Damn,” he sighed, rolling over to run his hand along her side. “Sorry babe.”

“El wants me to post some of our pics,” Rori said. “Which probably isn’t a bad idea if fans already know where we are. If we give them something that might stop them trying to find us and taking sneaky photos.”

“I can post one of the photos I took of you down on the beach the other day and ask them to give us some privacy. Maybe remind them I’ll be doing promo when we get back, so they’ll see plenty of us over the next few weeks.”

xXx

After spending a few lazy days in the cottage and on the beach out front in somewhat of an attempt to avoid the paparazzi they were sure had arrived on the island, they both decided to go out exploring. Harry packed the hire car while Rori finished getting dressed and lathering on the sun cream and then they drove off to the head of a trail Harry had read about online. It was early in the day, but the heat was already apparent, as it seemed to always be in the Caribbean. Harry, ever the gentleman, had shouldered the bag with their lunches, leaving Aurora only needing to carry a bottle of water. Her hair was pulled back in a high ponytail that was tucked through the back of her baseball cap and her sunglasses were perched on her nose. Occasionally they would pass others on the path, but for the most part they couple were alone as they hiked through the jungle along the beaten path, chatting happily about nothing in particular and laughing often. They stopped a few times along the way to take photos of the scenery and Harry demanded he be allowed to take a photo of Aurora, claiming that her bright blue shirt made her pop out amongst the foliage in a way that needed to be captured on camera. She’d laughed at his insistence but struck a pose, mocking his infamous peace sign. He slapped her lightly on the butt as they headed off down the path again, causing her to jump and let out a shriek. Eventually, after a few hours, the path finally opened up to a pool of water at the base of a beautiful waterfall. 

Rori immediately pulled her cap off her head and stripped out of her shirt and denim shorts until she was standing there in only her black bikini. She grinned and winked at Harry when she caught him checking her out, sliding into the water without waiting to see if he was following. Harry quickly dropped his bag to the ground beside the pile of her clothes and tugged his shirt over his head, his yellow trunks hanging low on his hips as he took a few photos and then jumped into the refreshingly cool water with his wife.

They stayed in the water for a while before returning to their bags, where Harry set up a picnic lunch for them. They hiked back towards the car after lunch, Harry’s hand rarely leaving his wife’s as they walked through the jungle.

xXx

A few days after their hike to the waterfall, Aurora suggested they hire some paddle boards and spend the afternoon out on the water. Harry happily agreed, although they both found themselves to be rather terrible at the activity. While Aurora’s prosthetic was waterproof, the transmitter was not and with the high risk of her falling in the water she had decided against wearing it which left paddling to be a very difficult task. Even with both of his hands, Harry had his own troubles attempting to maintain his balance on the board. They both spent most of the time in fits of laughter as Aurora stood on the board, struggling to paddle, while Harry repeatedly fell into the water.

“So maybe paddle boarding isn’t for us,” Rori said when Harry’s head once again broke the surface, his curls clinging to his forehead. She sat down in the centre of her board and laid the paddle down beside her. Harry swam around her for a while before hoisting himself back onto his own board and laid down on his back. She fished her phone from the back pocket of her shorts and took a few photos of him laying shirtless in his tight white shorts.

“Why on earth did you bring your phone with you?” Harry asked, turning his head towards her and squinting against the bright sunshine. “You’re gonna get it wet and wreck it.”

“No, I won’t,” she replied. “It’s the new model and Dad asked me to test out the new waterproofing. Seems like a good time to test it out.” She slid into the water and swam across to the edge of his board, brandishing the now dripping phone as if to prove her point. He rolled his eyes at her and then pushed her head under the water. She popped back above the surface, gasping and sputtering, the look of shock causing Harry to burst out laughing. “You’re dead,” she warned before tipping the board and sending him into the water as well. They splashed around for a while, laughing and having fun. Aurora took a few more photos and even dived down towards the seabed to test out the phone, knowing her dad would have many questions for her when she reported back.

Eventually they grew tired, grabbing their boards and heading back towards the nearby shoreline. She’d had a fun afternoon but was not at all sad to be handing the paddle boards back to attendant at the hire facility. They were good at many things, but paddle boarding was not one of them.

“H?” Aurora asked as they walked along the boardwalk near the marina.

“Yes love?” he replied.

“Can you help me put my hair up please? It’s sticking to my back and it’s getting annoying.”

He smiled softly at her, taking the offered hair tie and quickly collecting her long brunette locks into a high ponytail before twisting it into a messy bun for her.

“Thanks,” she said, offering a kiss before they continued on their walk.

“Your welcome.” Harry wrapped an arm around her shoulders, tugging her close to his side as they wandered. “Bit too early for dinner so what do you wanna do for the rest of the afternoon?”

“I’m not sure,” Rori mused. “The resort up the road has a day spa. Maybe we could go get mani-pedi’s.”

“I like the way you think Mrs Styles.”

“I like when you call me Mrs Styles.”

Harry stopped walking, pulling Aurora to a halt as well and kissing her deeply. “I love you so much,” he murmured against her lips.

“Love you too, H,” she replied. “Now how about that spa date?”

He chuckled, slipping his hand into hers and allowing her to tug him up the boardwalk towards the nearby resort. They were seated after not too long of a wait, their feet soaking in the warm, delightfully scented water, while their fingernails were buffed and filed.

“This reminds me of my hens’ day with the girls,” Aurora said while the selected their colours. Both settling on tropical colours; peach for Harry and a soft pink and orange combination for Aurora.

“We should do this more often,” Harry said, leaning his head back and closing his eyes with a contented sigh.

“Because we have so much spare time,” Rori scoffed.

“We can make the time,” Harry replied. “What’s the point of being a global sensation if I can’t treat myself and my wife to a spa day every now and then?”

“Global sensation?” Aurora laughed. “Very humble of you dear.”

“Sorry you’re so right,” Harry replied, his tone mockingly contrite. “International heartthrob better?” He smiled brightly in response to Rori’s giggles, never happier himself than when he was making her laugh.

Once their manicures and pedicures were finished, they headed back to the cottage and Harry set about throwing together dinner, refusing Aurora’s offers to assist and instead banishing her from the kitchen. She rolled her eyes at his familiar demands to get out of his kitchen and went to change out of her bikini into a comfortable summer dress and then settle into the lounge chair out on the patio with a book as the sun slowly set over the water, the sky a beautiful blend of pinks, blues and purples.

Harry startled her out of her novel when he fell into the chair beside her and handed her a plate. She smiled softly at him, thanking him before digging in.

“Tomorrow’s our last full day,” Harry noted while they ate. “Any last things you want to do or places you wanna see?”

“No, I think I’d just like to lounge around here,” Rori answered. “Going to be a while before we have some downtime so it might be nice to do a whole lot of nothing.”

“Sounds perfect,” Harry said, smiling warmly at her as the last rays of light lit up their faces.

xXx

On their last day in St Lucia, they pair went running on the beach at dawn. The peach tones in the sky were beautiful and they both enjoyed the peaceful quiet of the early morning, the only sounds the soft crashing of the nearby waves and their heavy breathing as they ran on the hardpacked sand near the waterline.

They arrived back at the cottage once the sun had fully crested the horizon, already blazing warm in the cloudless blue sky. They showered and ate breakfast and then Aurora headed down to the beach. She laid out in the sun, soaking up the last of the tropical heat before they returned to London the following day, a novel in hand and a wide brim hat on her head. Harry came out to join her once he’d taken care of their breakfast dishes and sat down next to her with his own book. They coexisted on the sand, both absorbed in their novels as the sun continued to climb in the sky. Aurora head inside to throw together a light lunch and returned to sit beside Harry in comfortable silence as they ate.

“Gonna go for a dip to cool off,” Harry said, standing up and brushing the sand from his shorts. “Wanna join me?”

“Might stay here and work on my tan for a little,” Aurora replied. She smiled as she watched him jog down to the water’s edge and wade out into the ocean. She laid back, stretching out under the warm sun, attempting to soak up every ray she could, knowing how busy they would be for the next year with the album launch and tour on the horizon. There would be no time for vacations for quite some time and there would be little to no time like this where just the two of them could be together without interruptions or prying eyes. She loved their lives and their careers but sometimes she missed being a nobody living above a pub that could go about her day without having to worry that her outfit and hair were perfect because someone would take a photo of her and then thousands of people would pick her apart online. She was so caught up in her thoughts that she didn’t head down to join Harry in the water before the change in light pulled her out of her daydreaming.

The weather had been so perfect for the majority of their vacation that Aurora was surprised to see the dark clouds quickly rolling in from the ocean. She yelled out to Harry, drawing his attention to the change in weather and he made his way out of the water, the clouds already turning the previously perfect day, dark and gloomy. There was still lingering heat in the air, but the rapid change was causing the humidity to climb and there was a feeling of electricity in the air as the winds picked up and howled along the beach. Harry grabbed his towel from where he’d left it beside her and they both dashed back towards the cottage. They reached the safety of the porch only moments before the rain came bucketing down and they watched as the sea turned grey and churned in the sudden storm. 

“Didn’t see that coming,” Harry muttered as he tried to dry off his curls. 

“One minute it was beautiful sunshine and then the next thing I knew the clouds were rolling in,” Rori agreed. “Wish it could have held off till we left tomorrow.”

“At least we were already planning to have dinner here,” Harry said. “Would have been a bloody nightmare trying to get into town in this.”

“Seems like it’s perfect weather to curl up with a movie, innit?” Rori asked, already heading towards the small living room. 

The movie had barely started when the first flash of lightning lit up the room, quickly followed by a clap of thunder that was so loud it rattled the windows. Harry felt Aurora jump in his arms and then she began shaking. He immediately recognized the beginnings of a panic attack, and while Rori hadn’t experienced one for months, he was an old pro in helping her through them by this point. One of his hands immediately moved to cover one of her ear, attempting to block out the trigger as she pressed herself as close as she could into his chest, blocking the ear that wasn’t covered by his hand. His other hand moved along the length of her spine soothingly as he felt her arms wrap around him, gripping on for dear life and squeezing him tightly as she continued to shake in his arms. He kissed the crown of her head muttering that everything was going to be ok and that she was safe. He knew that she couldn’t hear him, but she’d once told him that when she was pressed so tightly to his chest, she could feel the rumble of his voice and it helped to centre her in her panic. He also focused on exaggerating his breathing, coaxing her to pace her own with his and thankfully, as fast as the storm had rolled in, it continued over the top of them and soon the thunder was fading into the distance. Slowly, about 20 minutes after the first clap of thunder, Harry felt Rori’s arms slacken around him and her trembling body grew still against his. He continued kissing her head and murmuring that she was safe and that he was there and eventually, once he deemed that the thunder was distant enough, he removed his hand from her ear and instead moved it to join the other as her rubbed soothingly along her back.

“I’m sorry,” she mumbled, catching Harry off guard in the silence that had enveloped the little cottage in the storms wake.

“Don’t you dare apologize,” he replied, lifting her chin so that she was looking him in the eye. Her own were puffy and glassy, her cheeks blazing red. “You know I hate when you blame yourself.”

“We were having such a wonderful time and then I ruined it,” she said, her eyes dropping to her lap, unable to look at her husband.

“You didn’t ruin anything,” he promised, squeezing her back against him. “You know I love a good cuddle.” She lent her head back against his shoulder, her eyes slipping closed, exhausted by the panic attack. She shivered a little, the passing storm having sucked all the warmth out of the afternoon. “How about a nice warm bath?” Harry suggested, already standing and hoisting her into his arms. “Then we can come back out here and get all cosy and watch the movie over dinner.”

“Yeah I’d really like that,” she yawned, allowing herself to be carried into the bathroom, sitting on the counter as Harry filled the tub and added a lavender bath bomb. She slowly slipped out of her clothes as Harry did the same and they both settled into the hot water. Harry let out a content sigh as she cuddled up against his chest, his legs framing her hips, his arms wrapped around her waist.

“I love you,” he murmured.

“Love you too, H,” Aurora replied, turning her head from where it rested against his shoulder to kiss him. “Don’t know what I’d ever do without you.”

xXx

They packed their things the following day and drove the hire car back to the small airport on the other side of the island, arriving back in London the day before the release of Harry’s first single, attempting to shake off their vacation in preparation to jump straight into the press appearances and performances ahead of the album launch in a few weeks’ time.

It was early afternoon by the time that they collected their bags and made their way home to Battersea. Harry took their luggage directly into the laundry, dropping it all on the floor and leaving it for later before returning to the living room where Aurora was collapsed on the sofa. He laid down on top of her, his body pressing hers into the cushions and her soft chuckle was muffled in the fabric beneath her head.

“You good?” she laughed.

Harry hummed in reply, his face smooshed into the space between her shoulder blades. “Just need a minute and then I’ll get up.”

“Mind letting me up while you take that minute?” she asked softly. “Need to start on the laundry before Jeff comes over later. Gonna be a busy day tomorrow.”

“Exactly,” Harry mumbled. “Gonna be nonstop all day so just let me snuggle with ya for a bit.”

“Ok,” Rori chuckled. “At least let me turn over so we can cuddle properly without you smothering me to death ya big oaf.”

“Fine,” Harry relented, rolling onto his side up against the back of the sofa, allowing Rori to turn and wrap herself around his torso. She kissed him tenderly, her right hand trailing along the side of his ribcage and down to rest on his hip bone. “Still can’t believe you’re my wife,” he mumbled. Aurora smiled softly as she felt him falling asleep beside her.

“How lucky am I?” she whispered to herself, kissing him one last time and then rolling out from under his arm to head towards the laundry, leaving him to nap on the sofa. She knew that while she had fallen asleep the moment her head had hit the pillow the previous night, her husband had most likely stayed awake, worrying about her in the wake of her panic attack the previous afternoon. She decided to get what she needed to do finished and leave him to catch up on his rest before the meeting. They were expecting Jeff in a few hours to run through the finalised schedule for the release of Sign of the Times the following day. She set to work on emptying their luggage into the washing machine and then headed into the kitchen to get started on dinner, finally slipping on her prosthetic hand for the first time since the wedding.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> End note: This is the end of Part 2. Keep an eye out for Part 3: The Styles' Solo Era coming soon


End file.
